Serving of love gave Hairy Biker Si King a new lease of life

SI KING— one half of TV’s most-famous cooking duo The Hairy Bikers — is known for his cheery, jokey on-screen persona, but, until recently, that hid the personal pain of years of turmoil.

By 2014, he’d reached breaking point.

Living alone — as he’d separated from Jane, his wife of 27 years a couple of years earlier — he lost his mother, Stella, and shortly afterwards, nearly lost his own life when he suffered a brain aneurysm.

He’s admitted undergoing a mid-life crisis, saying: “I lost it . . . I didn’t know who I was any more.”

Two years on, the charismatic Geordie reveals for the first time that he’s undergone a remarkable transformation, thanks to his new-found love for a fellow chef.

Talking candidly about their romance and how she’s banished the self-doubt and unhappiness of the past, he declares: “Without a shadow of a doubt, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.

“I have a wonderful new partner. I’m really, really happy and feeling incredibly lucky that I’ve got a second bite of the cherry.”

The 50-year-old, who was back on screen with his cooking partner Dave Myers, in their latest BBC1 series The Hairy Bikers’ Comfort Food earlier this year, confides his new love is Australian, called Michelle, and is a professional cook.

“We first met years ago in South Africa when we were both working out there, and became friends,” recalls Si.

“When we met again, our circumstances had changed (he and his wife Jane divorced last October) and it just kind of came together. It was pretty amazing.”

Clearly head over heels in love, they fly thousands of miles each month “commuting” between each other’s homes — Michelle, also 50, lives and works in Sydney, while he lives in Britain outside Newcastle-upon-Tyne — so they can spend precious time together.

“Michelle’s such a good human being with good energy and is very loving,” adds Si.

“We’re so scarily alike it’s bizarre. We have so much in common — food, music, art, politics — everything. We share everything.”

King, who’s previously blamed the pressures of his TV career and lengthy absences from home travelling the world filming The Hairy Bikers for his marriage breakdown, is determined not to risk prolonged periods away from his new partner.

“I’m definitely not going to let absences ruin this relationship because I want to make it work properly,” he says.

“I travel to Australia around once a month and spend as much time as I possibly can there.

“It’s important I do, as I miss her,” says the chef, who first found nationwide fame with fellow Northerner Dave Myers 12 years ago with their show, The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook.

The pair have starred in a host of hit TV shows, written 18 cookery books, and they’ve also become national treasures along the way.

Si, a father-of-three — he has three sons from his marriage, Alex, 27, James, 24, and Dylan, 16 — says: “This year will be exciting as there are some decisions to be made about where I’ll live eventually.

“I probably won’t resettle in Australia because I want to stay near my children.

“Me and my boys are very close and I don’t want to affect that, so it’s a balancing act.”

He says: “The boys like Michelle. Of course they do, because there’s nothing not to like about her. She’s one of those sunshiney, happy, positive people. She’s the perfect balance for me.”

His partner, Dave Myers, 58, whom he first met 20 years ago and to whom he turned while he recuperated from the “horribly scary” brain haemorrhage and life-saving surgery, as well as during his marital difficulties, is, Si says: “happy I’m settled”.

He describes Myers as “my best friend and such a great mate”.

“We’re like two old slippers — we fit together,” says Si.

“He’s been so brilliant in getting me through the tough times with my operation and everything else. I also had wonderful support from my ex-wife and the boys.

“After the aneurysm, well, I didn’t have an epiphany moment, but you realise you have to have the courage to make different choices.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly following the challenges he’s faced personally and health-wise, he took his milestone 50th birthday last October in his stride.

“Let’s face it, I’m a privileged, lucky man to have come through my health problem, so I was just chuffed to bits to be here,” he admits.

He’s delighted about the new TV series as: “it’s cosy, fun and back to the basics of what Dave and I do best — a ‘chop and chat’ show. It’s lush,” he says.

“We’ve had the most-amazing opportunities doing the Bikers — going around the world four times, meeting amazing people.

“My life hasn’t turned out the way I thought it would, not by any stretch of the imagination. Nor did I think I’d be as happy as I am. It must mean I’ve done something right in my life to deserve this.

“I have a few regrets, of course, but I try not to because, at the end of the day, it’s all about the tapestry of your own experience.

“I never want to get to my deathbed and think: ‘I wish I’d done this’ or ‘If only . . .’ These days I’m working on not having any ‘If onlys’!”