Featured Image Credit: SAV/GC Images/BBC
Topics: TV And Film, Celebrity
Jess Hardiman
Viewers have been left in tears after the Hairy Bikers’ Dave Myers shared an emotional health update, following a shock cancer diagnosis last year.
The star opened up about his cancer journey in festive special The Hairy Bikers: Coming Home for Christmas, which aired last night on BBC Two:
Serving as a ‘glorious celebration of life’, the episode saw Myers and his co-host Si King host a poignant banquet to thank those who cared for Myers.
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The programme also featured unseen clips of Myers’ treatment as he spoke candidly about the terrifying diagnosis.
Remembering the moment he received a phone call from his doctor while in France, Dave recalled: “It's like, ‘Where do we go from here?’.
“When I first got the call, what went through my mind was disbelief, and a refusal to believe it in a way.
“It's the word, isn't it, the word that everybody fears.”
Myers said he chose not to share the specific type of cancer he had, in order to avoid people speculating about his outcome.
“The first lot of chemo was very, very destructive,” he continued, saying things ‘got really real’ when he lost all of his hair with the second round.
“You don't realise what an impact it can have, the debilitating effects kick in quite quickly.
“My sense of taste and appetite went, I was poorly, you see your weight drop and you've got to eat, but it's finding something you want to eat. I had sores in my mouth. I would fall over quite a lot.”
Later in the programme, Myers shared an update with fans as he got back on his bike with his best mate Si – finally hitting the road after his 37th round of chemo.
"My legs are going, the grin, I feel like a hysterical teenager again,” Myers said.
“I'm going to phone Kingy. It means we can get back on the road together again.”
King said: “I was jumping for joy, not for any other reason, but to see my best mate doing what he does.”
Myers’ wife Liliana said it felt like a ‘miracle’ that her husband was back where he belonged.
“I knew I'd got my man back,” she said.
“It was like a miracle had happened, because it was something we thought he'd never do again. But he does it.”
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as viewers followed Myers on his rollercoaster journey, which proved heartbreaking and utterly uplifting in equal measure.
Tweeting about the festive special, one fan said: “I watched the #HairyBikers Christmas programme this evening and am fully choked up by it. What a celebration of life, what a beautiful testament to friendship. I'm glad Dave's still here to make a lovely programme like that.”
Someone else wrote: “Oh @HairyBikers ‘what do you wish for’ ‘you for longer’ bawling! What a beautiful friendship. Watching you back on your bike Dave - so emotional!!"
Another commented: “Never had a tear watching someone ride a bike before! #hairybikers.”
A fourth added: “No, YOU'RE crying at the #HairyBikers.”
King was also understandably emotional about the milestone moment.
"It was the return for Dave and for me to normal a little bit and that was very precious when things haven't been for Dave particularly so by default haven't been for me either," he said.
"It was lush to see Dave riding saying, 'Are you sure we're not turning left here?'"