BBC Hairy Bikers star Si King says 'I'll be honest' as he reveals new project after Dave Myers death

He said it had been a 'struggle' losing his 'best mate'

BBC Hairy Bikers star Si King has told of his 'struggle' following the death of 'best mate' Dave Myers. The TV chef found fame alongside Myers - his friend of 30 years - as part of the motorcycle-riding cooking duo.

Myers died at the age of 66 in February, two years after revealing he had cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy. Writing in The Sunday Times, 57-year-old King said he wanted to 'clear off and never come back' after losing his friend.

But he is now trying not to 'dwell on the past' as Myers would have wanted. King said: "I'll be honest with you, the past few months have been a struggle.

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"More than once I was on the verge of jumping on my bike and heading into the sunset. Not tell anyone where I was going. Just clear off and never come back.

"Other times I was raging. Raging at that bloody disease, at God and anything else I could think of. People were asking what I was going to do next.

"The answer is I am going to take some time to reflect on the life I had with my best mate, and think about moving forwards. Which is exactly what Dave would have wanted. Move forward, don't dwell on the past."

King said he has been putting together a new anthology of classic Hairy Bikers recipes. He also revealed how 'there are a few new projects on the horizon'.

He added: "But even if I end up doing nothing more than making bacon sarnies and playing a few gigs with my band, that's fine by me. Happy days! I keep getting asked if the Hairy Bikers have left a legacy.

"Yeah, I'd like to think we made a little bit of difference, here and there. Just two regular blokes, having a go at beef rendang or apple pie.

"Hopefully we caught the attention of people who didn't normally watch swanky cooking programmes on telly." He added: "Overweight, scruffy, working-class northerners don't often get presented with an opportunity like the Hairy Bikers.

"It was a beautiful, magical thing and I'll miss it. I'll miss him. But there is a future for me, and I'm excited for what's coming next."

The pair met in 1992, with King describing how their friendship 'was sealed over a tandoori chicken masala, four poppadoms and three pints of lager'. Their first TV appearance together was The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook in 2004, which was part cooking show and part travel programme.

In the first episode, the duo rode the length of Portugal. In June, thousands of motorcyclists travelled from London to Myers' hometown in Barrow-in-Furness as part of the first Dave Day - a memorial motorcycle ride in honour of the TV chef.