Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers has shared the heartbreaking news he is battling cancer and undergoing chemotherapy.
The celebrity chef and his co-star Si King have been a staple of British televisions since the naughties.
The TV presenting duo are still working together after decades and 64-year-old revealed he is battling cancer on their shared podcast. He told his fans he's "fine really" and that he will beat the illness.
But Dave has had a lot of ups and downs over the years, including his mother being diagnosed with MS, having to lose weight due to health concerns and being diagnosed with glaucoma.
His personal battles didn't stop him from being a television favourite, with the star appearing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, The Mirror reports.
Here is a list of a few things to know about TV chef Dave...
Wife Liliana Orzac
Dave met his gorgeous Romanian wife Liliana in 2005, eight years after losing his fiancée to cancer. The two met while he was filming in Eastern Europe and the rest was history.
In 2011, with television partner Si as his best man, the chef married Liliana in his home town of Barrow, Cumbria.
Speaking about his wife with Mirror previously, he said: "It was love – or rather lust – at first sight. Not on her part probably!
"She was the manager of our hotel. As Lil showed us our rooms she was very serious, I said, ‘Cor! She’s gorgeous!’ But Si thought she was scary."
The two became pen pals before they started falling in love. He added: "She’s a strong woman and she’s tough with me. If I’m in a mood, she’ll tell me. She’s smart and looks after our finances."
He has two stepchildren, Serge and Izabel.
Strictly Come Dancing
In 2013, Dave took part in the 11th series of BBC series Strictly Come Dancing.
He was partnered up with Venezuelan-American professional dancer Karen Hauer but was, unfortunately, the sixth contestant to get eliminated.
He received the lowest scores for his Cha Cha Cha, Jive, Paso Doble, and Salsa.
Before he was eliminated, fans were questioning how he managed to be saved but it didn't bother the Hairy Biker.
He said: "I’m having a good time and I’m not going to let people spoil that."
At the time, he had no intention of quitting and told the critics: "A few people have suggested it on Twitter but my reaction to that is they can stick their head in a bucket of custard."
Looking back at his time on the show, Dave said: “I’ve had the time of my life, I mean I’ve met some wonderful friends."
Glaucoma Diagnosis
Last year, Dave explained that he was 'utterly flabbergasted' when what he thought was a bad hangover turned out to be a problem with his eyes.
He mistook the symptoms to be a typical hangover before eventually being referred to an optometrist.
Dave admitted that he had quite a night of drinking before going to a check-up the next morning, which led to him needing a hospital appointment with the suspicions of having glaucoma.
Speaking to The Mirror previously, Dave said that he couldn't believe that would be what is wrong with him. He said that he told the optician: "‘I don’t think so. I had a bit of a night last night. So I’ve probably just got a bad hangover.’
“But she took no notice and referred me to my GP who made a hospital appointment. And she’d been right. The first symptoms of glaucoma were setting in.”
Glaucoma is described by the NHS as a common condition where the optic nerve which connects the brain becomes damaged. Early symptoms include blurry vision and seeing rainbow-coloured circles around bright lights.
With regular check-ups, he has been able to keep on top of the condition and live with the effects it has.
Weight Loss
Dave and Si became famous for their big hearty meals while riding around the world on their motorbikes, but they were given a massive wake-up call. Dave once tipped the scales at 18 stone, while Si weighed in at a bulky 19.5 stone, which they previously admitted may have been partly down to their catchphrase 'a big knob of butter’.
Back in 2012, Dave had been diagnosed with borderline Type 2 diabetes, while Si had high blood pressure, was feeling lethargic and had low self-esteem because of his weight. “Look lads, you are middle-aged now and morbidly obese. You need to do something about it,” a doctor friend explained to them.
“If we’d continued to pile it on in the way we’d been doing, we wouldn’t have had a career anyway – you can’t if you’re dead,” Dave recalled in February 2017.
The pair lost a sensational 6 stone between them after realising they had to make drastic changes or faced a harrowing prospect.
Mum's MS diagnosis
When he was only eight years old, he became a childcarer as his mother was diagnosed with MS. Margaret was in a wheelchair within a year of finding out about her condition.
Multiple sclerosis is a condition that can affect the brain and spinal cord, causing a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation or balance. As an only child, he ended up having to clean the house, cook family meals and look after his mum.
The shock and stress of the entire situation, especially as a young boy, resulted in him losing his hair. Previously speaking about his childhood, Dave admitted: “Yes, life changed. Becoming a carer didn’t ruin my life – I still had lots of mates – but it certainly tied my childhood down."
He added: "I couldn’t go to bed until Mum went to bed. Dad would take Mum’s legs and I’d take her arms and we’d carry her up the stairs each night."
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