The Hairy Bikers star Si King has said he often catches himself expecting a phone call from his late best friend and co-star Dave Myers.
Myers, who found fame alongside King as part of the motorcycle-riding cooking duo on their TV show The Hairy Bikers, died in February aged 66 after being diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. The pair became known for travelling the world on their motorbikes and their cookery books inspired by their travels.
Speaking on This Morning, King said that he’s still processing his friend’s death, and often wonders why he hasn’t heard from him.
“The amount of times that I’ve gone, ‘I’ve not heard from that toe rag’ and I’ll go, ‘Oh man’.
He added: “It was my best mate, and actually he still is my best mate, that never goes does it? But he is a miss. And it’s just a bit odd.”
Reflecting on his grief, King said: “It’s raw for anybody that loses somebody, but there are two things that are certain in life, you begin it and you end it, the bit in the middle is about what you do with it.”
“And Dave, I have to say, he loved his life. He lived it to the full and he was joyous to be around.”
King, 58, remembered how his friend of 30 years was always ready for new challenges and approached each day with enthusiasm – such as his time on Strictly Come Dancing.
“Could he dance? Could he nelly, but it was just amazing to watch because it was a heart and soul performance, as you always got with Dave – that’s who he was,” said King.
In 2022, Myers revealed he had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy.
King said the grieving process started for him when Myers was diagnosed but they concentrated on the treatment process together.
“Grief is a very individual journey because it’s about an emotional adjustment of loss and the things that are no longer tangible, that’s quite an existential thing to get your head around,” he said.
The pair had been working on a new book, The Hairy Bikers: Our Family Favourites, before Myers’ death – but King has been spurred on to finish it in his friend’s honour.
“I really, really wanted to just as a mark of respect for my best mate and also it’s about legacy,” he said of finishing the book on his own.
“It was about looking after that legacy and being the curator of that legacy is really important and to treat it with the respect it deserves.”
The book contains recipes that stuck with the piece during their travels over their two decades of travelling together.
Reflecting on meeting Myers in 1995 and going on to work together, King said: “We always used to say it was like winning the lottery but better.
“Because we were two working class lads from the north and it’s been such a privilege to see the world we live in and talk to the wonderful people that are sometimes completely diverse from the culture that we know and understand and are completely different.”
