A special two-part series ‘Michael Mosley – Just One Thing’ will celebrate the life and legacy of the late science broadcaster and programme maker who passed away earlier this year at the age of 67.
The OU/BBC co-pro builds on the success of his hugely popular Radio 4 podcast by the same name and will air on BBC One on 14th and 21st October at 8.30pm and available to stream on iPlayer.
Michael was making this series in the last few months of his life. It is now a fitting tribute to broadcast the two completed episodes of the series, as a celebration of the huge impact he had on so many. Using Michael’s trademark journalistic style, they explore a small but powerful change that can lead to better health, echoing the themes of his beloved podcast.
Mosley was a man on a mission: to make lives better and improve overall health and wellbeing. As a result, he touched and changed many lives with his straight-forward relatable tips.
Each episode will feature real-life participants taking on a health challenge inspired by Mosley’s advice. Through their experiences, viewers will see how these manageable lifestyle adjustments can make a significant difference in overall well-being.
The first episode will follow a group of individuals who, inspired by Mosley’s guidance, take on the challenge of incorporating daily cold showers into their routine to boost energy levels and immunity. The second episode will explore the cognitive benefits of learning new skills, with participants engaging in activities like language learning, dancing, and pottery to enhance memory and creativity.
Dr Ben Langdown, Senior Lecturer in Sports Coaching at The Open University was one of the academic consultants on the series. He said:
“The production of this series is obviously tinged with great sadness that we have lost Dr Michael Mosley. He was an inspiration to us all, and every one of his programmes demonstrated his passion to open our minds to science. Michael was involved in many projects and research to see whether changing just one thing in our lives could support better health and wellbeing. This series was set to be another fantastic opportunity for people to explore various health tips and habits that could be built into everyday life. The two episodes that are being broadcast, showcase his desire to present evidence backed tips and provoke people to adopt simple changes (e.g. cold showers or learning a new skill) that can bring about so many positives.
Since working on the project, I’ve adopted the habit of ending every shower with a blast of freezing cold water for 30 seconds…let’s see how that goes as we move into the winter months! It certainly wakes me up in the morning, and hopefully will bring all the other health and wellbeing benefits discussed in the episode. In the online interactive I have provided further tips on how people can maintain these changes to form habits, and remain motivated to embed them into day-to-day life.
It has been an absolute privilege to be involved in this production and to know that his work will continue to make a difference, even if we do change ‘just one thing’.”
Supporting Online content:
Visit our Broadcast and Partnerships site OU Connect where you can Explore helpful tips on how to keep up new habits.
This series was commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education, and Language Studies (WELS), with particular relevance to: Q76 | BSc (Hons) Sport, Fitness & Coaching | Open University; Q96 | BSc (Hons) Healthcare and Health Science (open.ac.uk) , and QD: BA/BSc (Honours) Open degree
Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Director, Broadcast and Partnerships
Academic Consultants: Dr Ben Langdown & Nerys Bolton
Media Fellow: Prof. Erica Borgstrom
Broadcast Project Manager: Poppy Ross
Supporting Online Content: Xinmiao Zhang
