A body believed to be that of missing British TV presenter Dr Michael Mosley has been found on a Greek island on Sunday morning, a police spokesman says.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because of an ongoing investigation, the spokesman said the body was found on a rocky coast by a private boat and that formal identification was pending.

Mosley went missing on the small eastern Aegean island of Symi on Wednesday afternoon after reportedly leaving a beach to go for a walk.

Mosley is well known in Britain for his regular appearances on television and radio and for his column in the Daily Mail newspaper.

He is known outside the UK for his 2013 book The Fast Diet, which he co-authored with journalist Mimi Spencer.

The “5:2 diet” set out how people can lose weight fast by minimising their calorie intake for two days in a week while eating healthily on the other five.