The Hairy Bikers: Dave Myers says he has sold his motorbikes as he moved north during cancer treatment

Myers, 65, and his wife relocated from Kent to Staffordshire during his chemotherapy to be closer to her children, and he made the decision in order to save her having to arrange for the bikes to be transported up.

He and presenting partner Si King spoke to The Times as part of the promotion for their new book, The Hairy Bikers Eat Well Every Day.

Myers revealed that King, his best friend of 30 years, was the second person he told about his cancer diagnosis after his wife when he was given the news just over a year ago. He has deliberately decided not to go public with the form of the disease that he has.

He is about to start radiotherapy before heading to Scotland to film their new series, having seen his weight drop to 13 and a half stone from around 17 in 2012.

He had to learn to ride a motorbike again, and has bought a Royal Enfield following the sale of his collection.

Both Bikers spoke about their personal lives – Myers, who met his wife Lil in Romania during a filming trip, lost his first fiancee to stomach cancer. King is divorced from ex-wife Jane Dodd, the mother of his three children, and a more recent engagement has also now ended.

.They also confirmed that another recipe book, themed around comfort food, will follow later this year.

Read the full Times interview here.