Dave Myers obituary: Life as a make-up artist, The Hairy Bikers and stint on Strictly Come Dancing

“Sometimes I got out a cookbook and made a pie or a stew out of whatever ingredients we had in,” he recalled

This was in his home town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, where his father worked as a foreman in a paper mill. David attended the local boys’ grammar school and then took a degree in fine art at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a MA in art history.

He became a professional make-up artist, specialising in prosthetics, and met Si King in 1995 on the set of the television drama, The Gambling Man.

They found a shared love of biking, Myers having bought his first motorcycle, a Cossack Ural Mars Mk III with sidecar, while still a student working part-time in a steelworks to help finance his studies in fine arts.

With King he developed a ready on-screen chemistry. Their first show, The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook, was launched on the BBC in 2006 and saw them ride across countries including Portugal, Romania and Namibia, tasting the local cuisine and experimenting with making it themselves.

They went on to film many other series and specials for the broadcaster, seeking out new dishes in countries such as India, Vietnam, Argentina and Mexico. They also sampled cuisines of places nearer to home, such as Ireland and the Isle of Man. Across their career they published more than 30 cookbooks together.

Myers also competed in Strictly Come Dancing in 2013 alongside professional dancer Karen Hauer. They were voted off the competition in week seven.

He also appeared as a guest on a host of shows including Sunday Brunch, Countdown, Would I Lie To You?, All Star Family Fortunes and The Weakest Link.

King recalled that their more than 30-year friendship came naturally to them as they were “good mates” and “part of each other’s families”.

Myers also recalled during the interview that King had cooked him his favourite comfort food of mince and dumplings while he was being treated for cancer.

He had previously spoken about other health struggles, including discovering he had glaucoma – an eye condition that can lead to blindness. In 2018, he revealed he had originally dismissed the condition as a bad hangover.

He had also opened up about losing weight through the years by cutting out carbohydrates and alcohol in a bid to become healthier.

For a BBC Two series, A Cook Abroad, Myers had to travel to Egypt without King after he suffered a brain aneurysm in 2014, which his co-presenter later said he was only able to survive thanks to considerable weight loss.

Myers was married to Liliana Orzac, whom he met while filming Hairy Bikers in Romania, and was a stepfather to her two children, Iza and Sergiu.