Dapper dude: TV’s Hairy Biker Dave Myers
Can you run up the stairs?
Yes. I split my time between my homes in the Loire Valley and Kent. When I’m in France, I do 20 to 30 km cycle rides a couple of times a week to keep fit.
Get your five-a-day?
Yes, I love vegetables. Si (King, the other half of the Hairy Bikers) and I do try to practise what we preach and eat healthily. I aim for five a day.
Pop any pills?
I take daily eye drops for glaucoma [where pressure in the eye becomes too high], which I had diagnosed in both eyes seven years ago. I was lucky it got picked up early and the condition is stable. I have regular eye tests — I am very short-sighted and have worn spectacles since I was eight.
Ever dieted?
Yes. We did a TV series in 2012 called Hairy Dieters: How To Love Food And Lose Weight. Si was just shy of 20 st and I was 18 ½ st. We went on a 1,200-calorie-a-day diet and each lost 3 st. Now, I keep carbohydrate portions under control and eat as much fish as I can. I’m 6ft and around 15 st.
Any vices?
I love my booze. When Si and I are filming, we don’t drink a great deal, as you can’t film with a hangover. Food is my main vice, though — I love pizza, but that really is high in calories.
Most serious illness?
The glaucoma could be very serious. I was told I could lose my sight if I didn’t have it treated. In 1998, I had brain surgery to remove an arachnoid [fluid-filled] cyst the size of a small bread roll. I collapsed while working as a make-up artist on a film set in Aberdeen. They put a shunt in my head to drain the fluid and I was very ill for a time. I was told I’d had the cyst since birth.
Any family ailments?
My mother died aged 65 of multiple sclerosis and my father died of a stroke aged 75, but he was a lifelong smoker.
Had anything removed?
My appendix, when I was eight.
Is sex important?
Yes, of course. I am lucky to be married to a woman I love. I have a great marriage.
Double act: The men have been a huge success with their witty approach to cooking
Cooking up a storm: Dave Myers and Simon King showing off their skills on This Morning
Ever been depressed?
Yes, but there’s always been a reason. I have never had proper depression.
Any phobias?
Cockroaches. When I was a child, I lived in a house that had cockroaches and, in those days, they seemed monstrously large.
Hangover cure?
A bacon sandwich and a pot of hot tea or, if I am not doing anything, a Bloody Mary works wonders.
What keeps you up at night?
Worrying. I have always been a worrier since being a boy.
Like to live for ever?
I would if I could stay healthy.
Dave is ambassador for Specsavers’ Transforming Eye Health campaign. Visit specsavers.co.uk