Hairy Bikers star Si King reveals moment he felt ‘permission to grieve’ Dave Myers-Meghna Amin-Entertainment – Metro

Si King has opened up on his grief after the death of his best friend and co-star Dave Myers (Picture: BBC/South Shore Productions/Jon Boast)

Si King has said Dave Day, a 30-mile motorcycle ride to celebrate the life of fellow Hairy Biker Dave Myers, gave him and fans ‘permission’ to start grieving.

A one-hour special, The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone, about the day which saw 46,000 motorcyclists take part, airs on BBC Two on December 23 at 9pm.

It follows the emotional celebration of Myers’ life, and raised funds for various charities, following the TV star’s death aged 66 in February from cancer.

King, 58, told the PA news agency he made the decision to make the documentary after celebrating the 32nd anniversary of their friendship and 23 years working together.

He said: ‘It seemed only right and fitting that after that date passed, that we did something, and we thought that this was the best way to celebrate his life.

‘Because I think what Dave Day did was give permission, to a wider audience, I’d say the Hairy Bikers family to start that grieving process for my best mate.

Myers died from cancer aged 66 in February (Picture: Oliver Dixon/Shutterstock)

King celebrated Myers’ life with a tribute ride (Picture: Jon Boast/BBC/PA Wire)

‘So it was twofold, it was permission to grieve, because we all need that, don’t we, which is why we have the funeral services that we have in our society and all of that, and also, he loved his life.

‘Yes it’s poignant, but it’s a celebration of a joyous man and his time that he shared with us all on the telly.’

The chef and biker said it was ‘very nostalgic’ to collate footage for the programme, and added it brought back ‘memories of our travels together’.

He added: ‘We’ve been five-and-a-half times around the world, we’ve been to the moon and back, literally in terms of mileage, and most of that was spent in the saddle of a motorcycle as two friends.

Dave’s Day saw 46,000 motorcyclists take part (Picture: Jacob King/PA Wire)

The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone airs tonight (Picture: BBC/South Shore Productions)

‘So, of course, it was incredibly nostalgic and one visual image leaded to the next in your head.

‘It was like, oh god, remember that? It was just that plethora of that journey, both physical and emotional, that we went through together as friends.

‘It was a lovely energy to evoke and very special, it was very special, and also very hard on occasion.

‘When I had to voiceover the show it was tough, it was a tough thing to do.’

Si revealed parts of filming the show were ‘tough’ (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

King said his ‘journey’ with his best friend after his illness was ‘different to the rest of the populace’, saying ‘what you see on the telly, is what you get off the telly’ with the pair, adding that Myers had wanted him to continue his TV career after his death.

He said: ‘We just did what we did because we were inquisitive, and we asked questions, and I’ll continue to do so on Dave’s behalf as well.

‘He would want me to continue very much, and I know that for sure, because we had the conversations, that was very important to us both.’

The TV presenter said he wanted those viewing the documentary to learn about ‘living in the moment and being joyous’ as Myers had been.

Si said he wanted those viewing the documentary to learn about ‘living in the moment and being joyous’ as Myers had been. (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

He explained: ‘Life ain’t easy in the modern world and it’s to be taken as a celebration, the last thing that Dave would want would be anybody crying into their soup.

‘He used to say all the time, grab life by the balls, give it a shake and see what happens.

‘That was the ethos of it all, understanding that life throws curve balls at you every now and then, so live in the moment, that’s what he’d want people to take away.’

The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone airs on BBC Two tonight, Monday, at 9pm.

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