Si King

Simon "Si" King
Si King (left) with Dave Myers
Born	Simon King 1967 (Age 47) Kibblesworth, County Durham, England
Years active	2004-present
Website
Hairy Bikers Official Site

Simon "Si" King (born 1967) is an English television presenter, best known as one half of The Hairy Bikers with Dave Myers. Together they have presented a number of television cookery series for the BBC.

Early life

King was born in Kibblesworth, County Durham (now Tyne and Wear). His father served in the Royal Navy in World War II on arctic convoys and was then employed as a motorcycle despatch rider. Aged 16 Si worked laying paving stones for a construction firm.^[1] He then worked in film and television production as a First Assistant Director and Locations Manager and was a member of the crew on the Harry Potter films^[2] and Byker Grove. He met Dave Myers in 1995 on the set of a TV drama entitled The Gambling Man on which he was the second assistant director.^[3]

Career

Hairy Bikers

Main article: Hairy Bikers

The front cover of Mums Know Best - The Hairy Bikers' Family Cookbook

The duo appeared on the BBC's The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook. Their TV shows are a mixture of cookery and travelogue, using a similar format and style to that previously associated with Keith Floyd, including the habit of frequently referring to the cameraman and other crew. Most shows feature the pair riding motorcycles, including the BMW R1200GS, F650GS^[4]^[5] and Triumph Rocket III. The show also features elements of the Two Fat Ladies format, including regular banter between the two stars, use of various unusual cooking locations and the use of motorbikes. In Summer 2009 they filmed a 30-part daytime series for BBC Two, The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain, which aired weekdays starting on 24 August 2009. The series saw them visit a different county each day and cook what they considered to be that county's signature dish.^[6] A new six part series titled The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best commenced broadcast in early January 2010 on BBC Two.^[7] On 25 October 2010 a new 40 episode series, The Hairy Bikers' Cook Off, was launched on BBC Two. The programme includes a cook off between two families, and celebrity guests. From January to May 2010, the Hairy Bikers performed their "Big Night Out" show in theatres throughout the UK. Directed by Bob Mortimer, the show was a fun mixture of cooking and chat with a little song and dance thrown in. It explored their youth, how they met and their love of food. In June 2011, the Bikers appeared in the second series of Mum Knows Best. The series, made up of eight episodes, featured three 'Star Mums' whose recipes were tested and shared with the public.^[8]

October 2011 saw a new series, Meals on Wheels, air on BBC Two. The series fronted a campaign to save local 'meals on wheels' services around the UK.^[9] From November to December 2011, the Bikers appeared in a 30-part BBC series called Hairy Bikers: Best of British, airing at 3:45pm on BBC Two (apart from the show's final week, in which it aired on BBC One). The series celebrated British recipes and championed local produce. In January 2012, continuing into February, BBC Two showed hour long re-versions including recipes from various episodes of the series.^[10] After they had signed new contracts with the BBC in 2011, a new series was commissioned. The Hairy Biker's Bakeation sees Si and Dave doing what they love best - a gastronomic road trip, uncovering the best baking on offer across Europe, from Norway, the Low Countries (The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg), Germany, Eastern Europe (Slovakia, Hungary and Romania), Austria, Italy and France to Spain. In March 2012, Good Food commissioned The Hairy Biker's Mississippi Adventure, the duo's first series for the channel. UKTV gave a description of the series: "In this ultimate food and music pilgrimage, the perennially popular Hairy Bikers are getting back in the saddle as they explore the length of the iconic Mississippi river in America in pursuit of the delicious roots of soul food and Southern music." The series will be produced by Mentorn Media and the Bikers' first interactive iOS app, also produced by Mentorn, will be released to accompany the series.

In August 2012, Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight showed how The Hairy Bikers radically changed lifestyles, but stayed true to their love of great food, as they embarked on a campaign to lose two-and-a-half stones (15.8 kg (35 lb)) in three months, and comfortably passed their target weights.^[11]

In February 2014, they launched a new series, The Hairy Bikers' Asian Adventure for BBC Two which sees them travelling in Asia sampling the local cuisine, meeting local people and cooking up some native dishes themselves. The series follows in a similar style to the Bakeation series in 2012.

Personal life

King is married with three sons. In October 2009, filming of a BBC Christmas show featuring the Hairy Bikers was halted after King was injured in an accident on Tyneside. King came off his bike when a car pulled out in front of him, whilst he was riding through Gosforth during rush hour. His TV partner Dave Myers was riding some distance behind him. King was taken to Newcastle General Hospital for treatment to bruising to his right leg and ribs.^[12] The hour long Hairy Bikers' Twelve Days of Christmas was shown on BBC Two, 16 December 2009.^[13] In 2014 King suffered an Intracranial aneurysm from which he recovered after hospital treatment.^[14]

References