George Mallory - making his final attempt to conquer the summit of Mount Everest - was lost, feared dead.

Seventy-five years on and photographs of the explorer's frozen body - found 2,000ft below the summit by an American team - are beamed across the world within hours.

On Thursday night, viewers saw the moment the expedition's leaders discovered the Mobberley-born climber's perfectly-preserved body in May.

At first they had assumed it was the corpse of Mallory's 22-year-old partner Andrew Irvine.

But a tag in the climber's torn clothing proved otherwise.

Members of the expedition were clearly overwhelmed by their discovery.

"It was a very moving moment," said journalist Peter Gillman, who is currently researching a book about Mallory's character and exploits. Yesterday (Tuesday) he began his chapter on Mallory's family connections with Mobberley. He hopes to complete The Wildest Dream next year.

The expedition had set out to solve once-and-for-all one of the mountaineering's most enduring mysteries: Did

38-year-old Mallory and Irvine reach the summit of Everest 29 years before Sir Edmund Hillary.

The team did uncover new evidence. In Mallory's pockets they found letters, goggles and an unpaid bill for fibre gloves. His camera, which would have solved the mystery, was missing.

The team believe the two climbers spent their last night alive on the mountain at 27,00ft on June 8, 1924.

The next morning both men set off later than they'd anticipated because they had forgotten their head torches. They now believe Mallory slipped and fell to his death on the descent, leaving Irvine alone and facing certain death.

The debate about whether they were the first men to conquer Everest remains.

But several members of the team said in Thursday's documentary that they were convinced Mallory - a man with the will, drive and passion to succeed - made it to the top.

"This guy was ready to die to do this, so I suspect he just might have done it," said one.

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