Dave Myers cancer: what did Hairy Biker say about his health, past illnesses explained - has he returned to TV

Fans of the Hairy Bikers are delighted to have seen Dave Myers return to their TV screens on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen earlier today (10 December), alongside Si King. After announing his cancer diagnosis earlier this year, Myers has rarely been seen on TV whilst undergoing chemotherapy.

After being introduced by presenter Matt Tebbutt, Myers said: “It’s fantastic to be back and what a way to celebrate with Christmas here. What we’re going to be doing here is a coffee and hazelnut cake. It’s a symphony where nuts meet coffee. Honestly it’s so good for Christmas, it’s as if the angel Gabriel’s wafted it across your nostrils.”

Myers added that he was “over the moon to be back” and, later in the show, went on to thank everyone who has helped through his treatment - including doctors and nurses in Birmingham and his friend King.

During the programme, the Myers and King also confirmed that they would be making their way back onto TV screens next year with their new series called The Hair Bikers Go Local, which will see the two travel around the country.

Myers revealed his cancer diagnosis on his Agony Uncles podcast with King, and said that it was looking like that the rest of 2022 was going to be “a bit of a write-off”.

This is what you need to know.

When did Dave Myers reveal his diagnosis?

Myers revealed the news whilst talking on the Hairy Bikers - Agony Uncles podcast, with fellow Hairy Biker chef and friend Si King.

Myers 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 may be okay but this year’s a bit of a write-off for us.”

Myers asked that listeners respected his privacy during his treatment, saying: “I have had to speak up about this because I don’t want to hide under a rock, but I would love it if people respected my privacy and just let me get on with it and give Si and our team all the support they need, that would be great.

“But look, the prognosis is okay, I’m going to be fine.”

He added: “I’ve just got to tuck in, look after myself, eat sensibly and get over this mess, flog books, and be a happy person so, within that, that’s where I am.

“I may be a baldy biker for a while so it’s just a warning, I don’t want to make a fuss about it, I look all right bald actually.”

Responding to Myers, King said: “No, listen, when I first met you, dude, you looked like an upside down Hells Angel so I like that look, I’ve always liked that look, you look cool.”

Myers replied: “Yeah, I know, and under different circumstances I would embrace it more, I feel, but under these circumstances it’s simply something I have to live with.

“Get on with it and crack on.”

What kind of cancer does he have?

Myers did not give any further details regarding his diagnosis, including the specific type of cancer that he has.

He has spoken in the past about previous health struggles, including discovering he had glaucoma – an eye condition that can lead to blindness.

In 2018 Myers revealed he had originally dismissed the condition as a bad hangover.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph in 2018, Myers said at the time: “When my local optician told me during a checkup in 2012 she thought I might have glaucoma, I said: “I don’t think so, I had a night out last night and I’ve probably just got a bad hangover”.

“She insisted I go to my GP, who referred me to hospital, where a consultant told me I had the first signs of early-onset glaucoma.

“Si and I had just lost around three stone each in a bid to get fit. I’d gone from being pre-diabetic with high blood pressure to being off all medication and feeling great.

“I was 54 and thought only old people suffered from this condition.”

In the late 90s, Myers was also diagnosed with a cyst on his brain.

In the same interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Myers said: “It was 1998 and the worst year of my life, because I’d lost my fiancée to cancer earlier in the year and then at the end of the year I suffered loads of migraines and memory loss.

“Doctors scanned me and told me I had a shadow on my brain. After what had happened to [my fiancée], I was convinced I was going to die.

“In the end, it wasn’t a tumour but a benign arachnoid cyst, and emergency surgery successfully drained it.”

At the end of last year, Myers had a tough time battling Covid-19, meaning his co-star King had to make a few solo TV appearances.

Joining Dan Walker and Sally Nugent on BBC Breakfast in October last year, King said: “He’s getting there. I think it’s hit him a little harder than any of us were anticipating, really. But Dave is as tough as an old boot.”

He added: “He’s not very well at the minute but we’re keeping a close eye on him.”

What has Si King said about Dave Myers?

Earlier this year, King appeared at the Bolton Food and Drink Festival, where he thanked fans of him and Myers for their support.

He said that while Myers is “in the trenches” he added that he’s “getting there”.

He said: “I just wanted to say, from Dave and I, thank you so so very much for all of the goodwill and support, all the messages really do not go unnoticed.

“He’s doing canny but as you appreciated he’s right in the trenches of it all at the minute but he’s getting there, thank God.”