Hairy Bikers star Dave Myers has passed away

Dave Myers, one half of TV cooking duo The Hairy Bikers, has died at the age of 66, two years after revealing he had been diagnosed with cancer.

Born and bred in Barrow-in-Furness, Dave Myers joined the BBC as a make-up artist, and while traveling the world with hit TV series he picked up recipes with Si King, who became the other half of the Hairy Bikers. The bearded duo were known for traveling around the UK and beyond on their motorcycles, sampling and cooking food from the places they visited. In addition to sharing their experiences on television, the pair wrote a string of popular cookbooks, including diet books that chronicled their own weight loss experience.

In a Twitter post, King said he “will miss [Myers] every day and the bond and friendship we shared over half a lifetime”. Other culinary celebrities offered condolences on social media as well. The Great British Menu host Andi Oliver wrote that she was “so so sad to hear” the news, adding: “My heart goes out to you all xx.” Paul Hollywood chimed in, saying that he was “gutted” about Myers’ passing. Jay Rayner recalled Myers as “a brilliant cook, a superb communicator and most of all a seriously lovely man”.

The Hairy Bikers’ latest series, The Hairy Bikers Go West, started this month and features the pair traveling down the UK’s west coast.