What did you miss?
There wasn’t a dry eye in the entire country on Monday night when the BBC aired an affectionate tribute to Hairy Bikers chef Dave Myers. The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone saw Si King reflect on the life and influence of his friend, who died in February at the age of 66.
The documentary followed King as he took part in an enormous motorcycle convoy in June to honour Myers, riding to his hometown of Barrow-in-Furness on “Dave Day”. It didn’t take long for audiences to reach for the tissues to wipe away their tears.
What, how and why?
Viewers were fully prepared to have an emotional reaction to the doc, but it didn’t take long at all for the tears to start flowing. “15 seconds into Hairy Bikers… man this house must be dusty or something,” said one viewer on Bluesky. Another wrote on X: “My other half cannot believe this hairy bikers special JUST started and I’ve already got tears in my eyes.”
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They weren’t the only ones experiencing heightened emotions, with another viewer on X saying they were “snotting and sobbing” while watching the show. Summing up the mood in another X post, one fan wrote: “Dave Myers wasn’t just one of England’s greatest sons but an out and out legend to people the world over.”
Speaking in the doc, King said he felt it was his “duty” to keep the Hairy Bikers brand alive and keep doing the work that he and Myers started together.
“I think, you know, in the spirit of the Bikers, Dave would want me to continue to have fun and to educate, to inform, to enlighten, to be slightly edgy. In fact, I don’t think, I know that he’d want that for me,” he said.
“I miss him. It’s my duty to look after his memory and to look after the legacy that he built, to look after the legacy of the Hairy Bikers that we both built.”
What did reviewers say about Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone?
It’s fair to say that TV critics were as wowed as audiences were by the Hairy Bikers documentary, providing a fitting tribute to one of the UK’s most recognisable chefs in the run-up to Christmas.
Chris Bennion in the Telegraph said: “There was a lot to put a lump in the throat – Myers becoming a carer for his mum at the age of eight; his wife, Lily, wearing his jacket and helmet on the bikers’ convoy; King’s tears – but it was a reminder of what a unique pleasure the Hairy Bikers could be.”
Writing in The Guardian, Jack Seale wrote: “Without any disrespect to Britain’s other favourite TV presenters, and while hoping that it is many years before we find out, it is difficult to imagine such an outpouring for anyone else on the box.”
The Hairy Bikers: You’ll Never Ride Alone is streaming now on BBC iPlayer.
