A probe has been launched into the death of a British diet expert and TV celebrity, who was found dead on the Greek island of Symi on Sunday after going missing.

"People on a boat saw a body close to the rocky coast," said Petros Vassilakis, police chief for the southern Aegean region.

PHOTO | COURTESY Michael Mosley

The deceased body of Michael Mosley was discovered by a television team from Greece's ERT public channel while shooting in the region where the 67-year-old went missing.

According to ERT reporter Aristides Miaoulis, a cameraman "saw something strange near the fence, 50 metres from the sea" on air.

"We discovered it was this man... he was lying down (on his back)."

Lefteris Papakalodoukas, the mayor of Symi, was also among the group and verified they had recovered Mosley, who was on the island on vacation.

PHOTO | COURTESY Michael Mosley

"It's the body of the journalist that we have been looking for over several days," he told ERT.

The authorities said on Friday that they were speeding up their search after the Briton was last seen alive on Wednesday last week.

His wife, Clare Bailey, notified police that evening after he did not return from a beach stroll alone.

According to Papakalodoukas, Symi has been scorching in "insufferable heat," the region where Mosley was last seen is "difficult because it's very rocky."

PHOTO | COURTESY Recovery efforts 

Much of Greece had record temperatures in the first week of June, with Symi, located near Rhodes and western Turkey, hitting 39.3 degrees Celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit).

Mosley was educated as a doctor after working as an investment banker before joining the BBC as a trainee producer.

He went on to film science and history documentaries, and during the last decade, he has established himself as a health expert in front of the camera and the author of best-selling diet books.