When Si King and Dave Myers roared onto our screens with The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook in 2004, the culinary duo gained legions of fans and permanently parked themselves in viewers’ hearts.
This year, after the tragic death of Dave, 66, from cancer on February 28, their enduring popularity was on display on a sunny Saturday in June when 2,500 motorcyclists joined King in London on a memorial journey to Cumbria.
By the time they reached Myers’ hometown in Barrow-in-Furness, they’d traveled nearly 300 miles, numbered over 45,000 and converged into a 37-mile-long convoy.
Now, this hour-long documentary follows the emotional event dubbed ‘Dave Day’, while celebrating the fun-loving TV chef through archive footage, unseen clips, heartfelt interviews, and childhood home videos.
Here, Si tells us more about this touching tribute to his best friend…
The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone release date
The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone airs on Monday, December 23, 2024 at 9 pm on BBC2. It will also be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone - interview with Si King
Where did the idea of Dave Day come from?
“It actually came about in a drunken conversation after his funeral with Lilli, his widow. She picked up on a social media post where somebody said that instead of saying ‘I’m having a good day,’ just say ‘I’m having Dave Day,’ because he was always positive.”
Did the turn out shock you?
“Yes! The police said there were between 150,000 and 175,000 people lining the routes. I mean, for two fat lads from the North on motorcycles, how does that work?! I found it remarkable. It's still very difficult to put it into words, because there was such an expression of love, community and fellowship on that day. It was an affirmation that we'd managed to do something that touched people's lives, and they wanted to come out and celebrate Dave’s life with me and his family.”
Did making this special documentary help with your grieving process?
“I think, yes. I mean, it was the most difficult program I've ever had to voice over, because it's a collection of clips, a celebration of Dave's life, and the history that we shared together. But you're only going to make one of these, so it’s very personal.”
You must miss him terribly?
“I tried to ring him up the other day and I had to stop myself. I don’t think there’s any point where you stop grieving. It’s very odd. There's not a day goes by that I don't refer to him or think about him, and this show is a lovely tribute to him. I'm very proud of it, and I know that Lil and the family are too.”
Do you remember the first time you met?
“I do! It was over a chicken curry and pints in 1992 in a pub called the Egypt Cottage beside Tynes Tee Television and our first conversation was about actors’ call times. We were both working on a Catherine Cookson romance called The Gambling Man starring Robson Green. I was an assistant director and Dave was the chief makeup and prosthetics artist. It was love at first sight!”
Many people might be surprised to learn he was a terrifically talented make-up artist…
“He was highly skilled at it and had a great reputation. Basically our first conversation was him saying, ‘Give me 45 minutes for wigs, if you need beards and chops on the fellas that’s 25 minutes’, and he was absolutely bang on every time. He could either make people look beautiful or half dead, depending on the script! We talked about that for around 15 minutes and then we started to talk about the things that we really wanted to - food, travel and motorcycles!”
From there you went on to travel the world together and make over 30 cookery travel shows. Why do you think the Hairy Bikers were so successful?
“It's about friendship, isn't it? It’s also about love, mutual respect and tolerance. The whole thing about the Bikers was that, just because something wasn’t your culture or you don’t understand it, doesn’t mean you’ve to be frightened of it. Differences are to be celebrated and the diversity of cultures are what makes the human race what we are, and that’s wonderful. Dave and I would have a laugh and a giggle when we were cooking together, but actually, the rest of the time, we were just the conduits for other people’s stories.”
Finally Si, what does Dave mean to you?
“Dave embraced life, was joyous, full of mischief, and touched people’s lives in a meaningful way. We were mates and we loved each other. Even though Dave's passed, he's still my best mate.”
Behind the scenes and more on The Hairy Bikers: You'll Never Ride Alone
The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone was produced for BBC Two by South Shore. It was commissioned by Catherine Catton, Head of Commissioning, Factual Entertainment and Events. The Commissioning Editor is Jasmyn McGuile. Executive Producers are Andrew Mackenzie and Melanie Leach.
In addition to The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone airing on BBC2 on Monday 23 December 2024, Si King will also make his BBC Radio 2 presenting debut that evening with Si King’s Christmas Rock from 10pm - 12am. During the radio show, which will also be available on BBC Sounds, Si will pick out a few of his favourite tracks to celebrate his love of rock music with a sprinkling of Christmas tunes.
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