Thirty years ago, Dave Myers, a specialist prosthetic make-up artist walked into a pub in Newcastle after scoring a job on a Catherine Cookson TV drama. Beyond the throng of TV crew sipping their white wine spritzers, he spotted the then assistant producer Si King, eating the pub's curry of the day at the pool table. He walked over, introduced himself and said to the landlord, "I'll have what he's having."
That was the moment one of the UK's most popular TV double acts was born. The Hairy Bikers' food travelogues, diet and campaigning programmes have been on our screens for more than two decades, and in that time Si and Dave have written 26 books. Self-proclaimed home cooks, their cheerful presenting style and on-screen banter have won them awards and scores of fans around the UK and the world.
In this programme Leyla Kazim asks Si and Dave how food and cooking have shaped their lives on and off screen, she hears the secrets to their enduring success, and hears from Stuart Heritage, TV critic for The Guardian, on why they still have much more road to travel together.
Presented by Leyla Kazim Produced in Bristol by Clare Salisbury