Hairy Bikers get back on the road and ‘Go West’

Tuesday: Hairy Bikers Go West (BBC Two, 7pm)
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Dave Myers has had a tough couple of years, but he bounced back onto the box late last year with a Hairy Bikers Christmas special.

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For a while, following his cancer diagnosis in 2022, the duo’s future seemed uncertain, but they were certainly on top form during a programme designed to celebrate all the people who had helped Myers on his road to recovery.

His best mate, Si King, assisted him in making a banquet for them all, but he was as instrumental as anybody in keeping Myers’ spirits up during the darkest period of his life. His passion for food also lifted the much-loved make-up artist-turned-cook.

Dave Myers and Si KingDave Myers and Si King
Dave Myers and Si King

Food is vital when you’re recovering from cancer,” explains Myers. “Sometimes I have to give myself a good talking to because if you’re feeling rough, you don’t feel like eating but you have to do it.

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“There are moments when you get back into food that you look forward to it again. It’s important to find things that you like as well during that journey. It’s the stuff of life. It doesn’t matter if you’re a prince or pauper, everyone has something that they like to eat. Pancit noodles now have legendary status for me.”

Getting back on the bike – Myers says he had to learn to ride again after being unable to sit in the saddle for a long period – has also been important, for King as well as his friend.

“It was the return for Dave and for me to normal a little bit and that was very precious when things haven’t been for Dave particularly so by default haven’t been for me either,” says King. “It was lush to see Dave in my rear-view mirror riding saying ‘are you sure we’re not turning left here?’”

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The pair were seen exploring on their trusty mechanical steeds during the festive show, and they’re doing more of the same in their new culinary journey, which follows their adventures as they explore Britain’s west coast. Along the way they’ll be travelling from Scotland to Devon, stopping off en route in Dumfries & Galloway, Lancashire, Merseyside & the Isle of Man, North Wales, the Severn Estuary and Somerset.

Some of the destinations they visit have a special personal meaning to one or both of them, either through family connections or because they’re places where their friendship was forged. Along the way they take the time to meet the producers, artisans, farmers and chefs who are contributing to the culinary revolution currently happening across the land.

And, of course, the duo will spend time rustling up their own recipes using the best local produce on offer, inspired by wherever they are at the time.

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Their trip begins on the Isle of Bute, a place they adore. After landing at Rothesay, Myers and King call in at a local deli to buy picnic supplies, before visiting a patisserie owned by a Syrian family and a six-acre market garden.