Drones and police are searching for British TV doctor and columnist Michael Mosley after he went missing while on holiday in Greece.

A search and rescue operation is under way in Symi, one of the Dodecanese Islands, for Mr Mosley, well known in Britain for programs such as the BBC series Trust Me, I’m a Doctor.

Mosley has made several films about diet and exercise, including a recent documentary on Australia’s sleep crisis and innovative approaches to treatment by the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health at Flinders University.

He also appeared on BBC’s The One Show and ITV’s This Morning.

Mosley also popularised the 5:2 diet, which endorses intermittent fasting.

Local police said they were informed about the “disappearance of the 67-year-old British national on the island” on Wednesday (local time).

They opened an investigation to find him and a search is being “carried out by the fire brigade with the assistance of forces of the Hellenic Police, Civil Protection (a local and regional coordination agency), volunteers and a police dog, while technical means such as drones are also used to locate the missing person”.

Fire services said they were asked about 11.15am on Thursday 11.15am to help the search.

Six firefighters, a vehicle and a drone team were sent from the nearby island of Rhodes to help, arriving in Symi at about 2pm.

Mosley’s agent confirmed his disappearance to the PA news agency.

Symi is a sparsely populated rocky island about 16 kilometres long that is home to about 2500 people.

A local Facebook group said Mosley went for a walk from Saint Nikolas Beach at about 1.30pm Greek time on Wednesday. He had not returned by Thursday morning.

“We are supporting the family of a British man who is missing in Greece and are in contact with the local authorities,” a British Foreign Office spokesman said.

Mosley, also a columnist for the Daily Mail newspaper, lived with tapeworms in his gut for six weeks for the documentary Infested! Living With Parasites on BBC Four.

He received an Emmy nod for BBC science documentary The Human Face, presented by John Cleese and featuring a raft of stars including Elizabeth Hurley, Pierce Brosnan and Sir David Attenborough.

Host Sarah Wilson and Mosley at the Sydney launch of BBC Knowledge series What’s Your Body Hiding in 2013.  Photo: AAP

Trust Me I’m A Doctor star Saleyha Ahsan wrote on social media that the news was “shocking” and that she hoped Mosley would be “found safe”.

“I literally feel sick with worry,” she said. “Don’t even know what to say.”

Mosley has four children with his wife Clare Bailey Mosley. She is also a doctor, author and health columnist, who wrote the recipe book Fast 800 Easy.

—AAP with Reuters