Michael Mosley was a lovable doctor who made the world a better place
I'm so pleased I had the privilege of working with Dr Michael Mosley, he was such a positive force for good, says Vanessa Feltz.
I am lucky. I spent time with Dr Michael Mosley. He was often booked as a guest on my shows, and I can tell you my overwhelming feeling every time a producer said: “So, today, Vanessa, we have A.N. Other politician; professor; celebrity flogging a film, play or book – and Dr Michael Mosley.”
As they read his name my emotion was always pure joy. Michael Mosley! Hooray! Just being in the studio with him was a tonic. He was so enthusiastic it was impossible not to absorb some of his positivity.
He didn’t merely walk into the studio, he hurtled. He didn’t simply hug, he bear-hugged. He didn’t just talk, he communicated. The instant he was on air, the switchboard ignited. Viewers and listeners were eager to engage with him and we all – with Michael “first among equals” – then entered a nirvana of compelling, informative, personal and revelatory broadcasting.
Some experts are passionate and steeped in knowledge but less than gifted at explaining their specialisms. Some people have the common touch but, bonhomie aside, have nothing much to say. Others are snake-oil salesmen, full of sound and fury. Others plod through interviews boring the pants off everyone.
Michael was the irresistible exception – a gifted scientist of immense integrity doing his utmost to help the rest of us live longer, healthier lives.
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He was his own lab rat. He never inflicted anything on his adoring public that he hadn’t been brave enough to try himself. Selling books and tickets to his shows was incidental to his mission to outlive his father, who died aged 74 of diabetes-related issues, and pass his discoveries to the waiting world.
I was fortunate to have basked in Michael’s company but not – as he would say in his thoroughly British, unsentimental way – as lucky as he was to have found his perfect partner in his GP wife Clare.
He mentioned Clare constantly, always with a smile. As she said: “We had an incredibly lucky life together. We loved each other very much and were so happy together.”
She wasn’t the “wind beneath his wings”. They worked in tandem, playing on each
other’s strengths, enjoying one another’s support and company. Audiences at their theatre tour commented on their enduring love. I send Clare and the couple’s four children my deepest condolences.
