The Hairy Bikers star Si King has opened up about how he felt when he found out his close friend and TV partner Dave Myers had been diagnosed with cancer.

Myers first spoke about his diagnosis on an episode of their podcast Agony Uncles in 2022.

At the time, he said: “Anyway Kingy, I’ve got to come clean now, I haven’t been too well recently and basically, I’ve got to have some chemo, you know all this anyway, so this year is going to be a bit quiet for me.

“I’m not going to be filming, some of the festivals I’m not going to be able to go to, some I may be OK but this year’s a bit of a write-off for us.”

Since then, the 65-year-old has been undergoing treatment including chemotherapy.

However, in an interview with The Times, King who is one half of the cooking duo said Myers’ diagnosis was “so distressing.”

The Hairy Bikers star Si King opens up about Dave Myers’ cancer diagnosis

As they both sat down in a restaurant at a hotel in London, King said: “I can’t even verbalise it, it’s so distressing. It’s very difficult to verbalise. I’m sorry, because I know this is an interview, but I’m finding it very hard.

"There’s a sense of loss, but there’s also that sense of hope, you know, knowing my mate as I do. He’s a scrapper. He’s a fighter. But there were certain points that I thought, ‘Where’s it going to go? What is happening to my friend?’”

As well as losing his hair and nails, Myers went on to explain that during treatment he had no appetite and suffered from nausea.

King was asked by Myers’ wife Liliana Orzac to stay with him for a few days while he was “mid-chemo.”

The 56-year-old said: “He was very, very, very unwell. And it’s funny, you know, when you see somebody you love so much in so much distress, it’s very hard to know what to do. My character and personality is naturally, I just want to fix it. I just want to fix it. I get very distressed when I can’t.”

The Hairy Bikers begin filming new BBC Two series

The foodie icons will be back on our screens once more as it was recently announced that a new TV series is on the way.

The Hairy Bikers Go West will celebrate people, food and everything in between from Scotland right down to Devon.

On Facebook, they posted: "BIG day for us! After 2 years the gang are back together and guess what? We start our new adventure!!!! Filming in Scotland!!! Love from Dave and Si.”

In a teaser for the new eight-part series, it said: “Starting in Scotland and riding all the way to Devon, this is the perfect trip for the Bikers to revisit places that are meaningful to their past, special locations where their friendship was forged, and locations linked to their family history.

“But it won’t all be familiar territory as they meet new friends and explore new scenery to cook mouth-watering recipes inspired by the diversity of the West coast.

“Their journey begins on Bute Island and travels through Dumfries & Galloway, Lancashire, Merseyside & the Isle of Man, North Wales, The Severn Estuary and Somerset, ending in Devon.

“Along the way, they’ll meet some of the best artisan food producers in the UK alongside award winning chefs and an incredible array of locals keen to share their passion for local produce.”