TV chef Dave Myers - one half of the motor-biking food-loving Hairy Bikers cooking duo - has died at the age of 66 after fighting cancer.
Dave spent nearly two decades appearing on cookery shows alongside his best pal Si King and the pair became one of Britain's best-loved TV duos, with their most recent series, The Hairy Bikers Go West, currently airing on the BBC.
In May 2022, Dave announced he was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, but did not specify which kind. He briefly took a break from work before returning to filming for a Christmas special that aired last year and the new and final series, which sees the pair travel down the west coast of Britain on their trusty bikes.
Announcing his death on social media on Thursday morning, Si said he would "miss him every day and the bond and friendship we shared over half a lifetime".
Dave, originally from Lancashire met Si, a Geordie, in 1995 on the set of TV drama The Gambling Man, while he was working as a professional make-up artist specialising in prosthetics and Si was the second assistant director on the show. They went on to build a friendship and successful career together based on their shared love of biking and cooking.
Speaking about their first meeting, Si told the Independent: "At lunch most of the crew were ordering salads and mineral water at the local pub, while I was having a curry and two pints of larger. When Dave came in he took one look at my lunch and went, 'I'll have what he's having!' Pretty quickly we discovered that we both loved eating, drinking and motorcycling."
Si also recalled the first time they cooked together at a New Year's Eve Party. "We worked quite closely together and we started cooking together one New Year's Eve party at my place in Huntly [Aberdeenshire]," he said. "I assumed I'd cook and Dave thought he was going to do it, as he'd always been the chef in his family. So we made it together, spiced roast pork with sticky rice, and it was really good."
In 2006, their first show, The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook, aired on the BBC. The programme saw them taking on adventures across countries including Portugal, Romania and Namibia, tasting the local cuisine and experimenting with making it themselves. The bearded duo then went on to film many other series and specials for the broadcaster, seeking out new dishes in countries such as India, Vietnam, Mexico and Argentina - where they got matching Che Guevara tattoos on their right arm to commemorate the trip - which didn't always go smoothly.
Si said: "We have this saying when doing The Hairy Bikers, 'It'll be right,' which it normally is, but we've had some hairy times, such as riding through a landslide in the Carpathian mountains; or having the crap beaten out of us by two Turkish blokes when we where filming in Mardin [in south-east Turkey]. After that Dave was like, 'I don't know about you, but that wasn't top of my pops.' He had me poleaxed from laughing for minutes."
The chefs, who published more than 30 cookbooks together over their career, also sampled cuisines of places nearer to home, such as Ireland and the Isle of Man, and their final shows saw them riding through different regions of the UK discovering the traditions and dishes they were famous for.
The Hairy Bikers won over audiences with their cheeky northern humour, enthusiasm for their travels and the special bond they shared that was obvious on screen. Si had previously said that their more than 30-year friendship came “naturally” to them as they were “good mates” and “part each other’s families”.
Si, who was best man at Dave's wedding to Liliana Orzac in 2011, said in an interview about the new series: "It’s just the way we are and we don’t really have to try very hard, because we like each other. We’re very different people but that’s what friendship is about because constantly you bring something new to the table when we see each other."
The pair were "quite different", according to Dave, who described himself as "dead fussy". He recalled that Si had to iron his clothes for him after he came off his bike in 2006 on the Isle of Wight, despite having never picked up an iron in his life. "It was bloody awful, but he had a go," he said.
Si was also there for Dave during his cancer battle. In one interview, Dave recalled that Si had cooked him his favourite comfort food of mince and dumplings while he was undergoing treatment. He told BBC Breakfast: “There was one day when I was poorly and he came round to our house and made me mince and dumplings, but he does it properly. You know, when the bottom of the dumplings are just soft, the top of the dumplings are crusty, and I really… I remember that with mashed potato. That was lovely."
At the time, the chef said he had been “really enjoying life” while getting back to riding his bike and filming with his “best mate”.
In 2020, before Dave's diagnosis, the pair spent months apart after being separate during the coronavirus lockdown. The duo had big plans for 2020 but in March they were forced to retire to their respective homes at opposite ends of England and didn’t see each other again until July. “I’ve never been away from me mate for that long – it was five months,” Si recalled.
The pair also embarked on a weight loss journey together in 2012, releasing a book and accompanying series called The Hairy Dieters. They managed to shed seven stone between them after being warned that their weight was a ticking time bomb.
Dave said at the time: "If you love cooking, dieting is hard – you can lose your hobby. But when we found out that we were both on the same blood-pressure tablets for no reason other than being overweight, we decided to do something about it – which was how Hairy Dieters came about. Si now looks great; he's lost weight in his face and lost his potbelly and now we're able to buy the good jeans rather than fat blokes' jeans at the bottom of the pile."
Si revealed that he was by Dave's side in his final moments, along with his wife and family and another close friend.
Paying tribute his friend, he said: "All who knew Dave are devastated at his passing. His beloved wife brought him such happiness as did her children, Iza and Sergiu who Dave loved like his own. Personally, I am not sure I can put into words on how I feel at the moment. My best friend is on a journey that for now, I can’t follow.
"I will miss him every day and the bond and friendship we shared over half a lifetime. I wish you god’s speed brother; you are and will remain a beacon in this world. See you on the other side. Love ya."