Si King has said it “wouldn’t be respectful” to continue The Hairy Bikers without his late co-star and friend Dave Myers.
Myers, whose many shows with King fused their love of cooking and motorcycles, died aged 66 in March this year after he was diagnosed with cancer in May 2022.
In his first sit-down interview since Myers’ death, King spoke with restaurant critic Jay Rayner at his cottage just south of Newcastle.
In the interview, which was published in The Observer on Sunday (23 June), King opened up about the loss of his friend – and also the subject of what he will do next.
The 57-year-old ruled out the possibility of continuing Hairy Bikers without Myers.
“It can’t be the Hairy Bikers 2.0,” he said. “That’s not going to happen. It wouldn’t be respectful.”
King went on to explain that he is not only mourning the death of his friend, but also the life and career that they shared together.
“There’s obviously the sense of losing your best mate,” he said. “But there’s also a sense of loss in that the experiences we had together can’t go on.”
The TV personality said that he has only recently, three months after Myers’ death, been able to grapple with the question of what is next for him career-wise.
He said: “It’s only in the past couple of weeks that I’ve started to think about what I want to do. I’ve spent all my life from very young thinking about what other people want and what their needs and aspirations are.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
“So to be presented at my age with the question of what you really want to do is very difficult. We were a partnership, a double act.”
He emphasised the importance of having a professional partner, stating: “I need someone to play off. I’m good at unpacking people. I’m genuinely interested in people’s stories.”
Asked by Rayner about the current television trend of celebrities fronting travelogues, King said: “It’s virtually impossible to think about that sort of thing at the minute.”
He continued: “I don’t think as a creative person you ever stop being creative. How can you retire from yourself? Do I want to do more books? Yes, I do. Do I want to make more programmes? Yes, I do.”
King went on to express his “sincere hopes” that the fans he and Myers gained along the way will stick by him on his next “journey”.
“It would be incredibly churlish not to say thank you to our fanbase,” he said. “I sincerely hope that whatever I do next they come with me and we start another journey together.”
In April, over 6,000 bikers joined King for a ride-out tribute to Myers, which raised money for Cancer Research UK. The route began in Beverley in East Yorkshire, passed by the Whitby coast, and ended in Scarborough.
The duo made their debut as the Hairy Bikers on The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook in 2004, and have presented numerous shows together over the years.
These include The Hairy Bikers’ Food Tour of Britain in 2009, The Hairy Bikers’ Cook Off in 2010 and The Hairy Bikers’ Asian Adventure in 2014.
