Simon James King (born 20 October 1966) is an English television presenter, best known as one half of the

Hairy Bikers The Hairy Bikers were a pair of English celebrity chefs comprising David Myers and Si King, whose television programmes combined cooking with motorcycling travelogue. Between 2004 and 2024, they hosted over 30 television series and special ...

with the late

Dave Myers David or Dave Myers may refer to: Politics and government * David Myers (Indiana judge) (1859–1955), Associate Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court * David Myers (Oklahoma politician) (1938–2011), American politician, member of the Oklahoma S ...

. Together they presented a number of television cookery series for

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...

and launched an online weight loss programme, 'The Hairy Bikers Diet Club'.

Early life

King was born in Kibblesworth, then part of

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. An alumnus of

St Robert of Newminster Catholic School St Robert of Newminster Catholic School is a Mixed-sex education, co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Washington, Tyne and Wear, Washington in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. The school is named after Rober ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, he once stated that he "went through a phase of wanting to be a priest when I was about 13, but soon discovered girls and music were way more interesting." King's father served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

on the

Arctic convoys The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

and was then employed as a motorcycle

despatch rider A despatch rider (or dispatch) is a military messenger, mounted on horse or motorcycle (and occasionally in Egypt during World War I, on camels). In the UK 'despatch rider' is also a term used for a motorcycle courier. Despatch riders were use ...

. At the age of 16, King worked laying paving stones for a construction firm.Si King Guardian money interview
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', retrieved 6 September 2014. He then worked in film and television production. He was assistant location manager on ''

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the first novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series and was Rowling's debut novel. It follows Harry Potter, a young wizard who disco ...

'' and

location manager The location manager is a member of the film crew responsible for finding and securing locations to be used, obtaining all fire, police and other governmental permits, and coordinating the logistics for the production to complete its work. They a ...

on ''

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the second novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. The plot follows Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry ...

''. He met Dave Myers in 1992. He also worked on the set of a TV drama entitled ''The Gambling Man'' on which he was the second

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

.'How We Met'
TheIndependent.co.uk; retrieved 8 September 2013.

Career

Hairy Bikers

The duo first appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's '' The Hairy Bikers' Cookbook''. Their TV shows are a mixture of cookery and travelogue, using a similar style to that previously associated with chef

Keith Floyd Keith Floyd (28 December 1943 – 14 September 2009) was a British celebrity cook, restaurateur, television personality and "gastronaut" who hosted cooking shows for the BBC and published many books combining cookery and travel. On television, ...

, including the habit of frequently referring to the cameraman and other crew. Most shows featured the pair riding

motorbike A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. Motorcycle designs var ...

s, including the

BMW R1200GS The BMW R1200GS and R1200GS Adventure ("R1200GSA") are motorcycles manufactured in Berlin, Germany by BMW Motorrad, part of the BMW group. It is one of the BMW GS family of dual sport motorcycles. Both motorcycles have a , two-cylinder boxer eng ...

, F650GS and

Triumph Rocket III The Triumph Rocket III is a three-cylinder motorcycle made by Triumph Motorcycles Ltd. At it had the largest-displacement engine of any production motorcycle until 2019 when Triumph released the Triumph Rocket 3. The name "Rocket III" is d ...

. In summer 2009, they filmed a 30-part daytime series for

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

, ''

The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain ''The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain'' is a 2009 BBC television cookery programme which is presented by The Hairy Bikers: Dave Myers and Si King. The 30-part series, which aired weekdays at 17:15 on BBC Two in the United Kingdom began on 2 ...

'', which aired weekdays starting on 24 August 2009. The series saw them visit a different county each day and cook what they considered to be that county's signature dish. A new six-part series titled ''The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best'' commenced broadcast in early January 2010 on BBC Two. On 25 October 2010, a new 40-episode series, ''The Hairy Bikers' Cook Off'', was launched on BBC Two. The programme includes a cook off between two families, and celebrity guests. From January to May 2010, the Hairy Bikers performed their "Big Night Out" show in theatres throughout the UK. Directed by

Bob Mortimer Robert Renwick Mortimer (born 23 May 1959) is an English comedian, author, television presenter, writer and actor. He is one half of the comedy double act Reeves and Mortimer with Jim Moir, Vic Reeves, and appears in the ''Mortimer & Whitehouse ...

, the show was a mixture of cooking and chat with some song and dance. In June 2011, the Bikers appeared in the second series of ''Mum Knows Best''. The series, made up of eight episodes, featured three 'Star Mums' whose recipes were tested and shared with the public. October 2011 saw a new series, ''Meals on Wheels'', air on BBC Two. The series fronted a campaign to save local 'meals on wheels' services around the UK. From November to December 2011, the Bikers appeared in a 30-part BBC series called ''Hairy Bikers: Best of British'', airing at 3:45 pm on

(apart from the show's final week, in which it aired on BBC One). The series celebrated British recipes and championed local produce. In January 2012, continuing into February, BBC Two showed hour long re-versions including recipes from various episodes of the series. After they had signed new contracts with the BBC in 2011, a new series was commissioned. ''The Hairy Biker's Bakeation'' was a gastronomic road trip across Europe. In March 2012,

Good Food Good Food (formerly UK Food and UKTV Food) was a British pay television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, latterly as part of the Discovery, Inc. network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5November 2001 and ...

commissioned ''The Hairy Biker's Mississippi Adventure'', the duo's first series for the channel. In August 2012, ''Hairy Dieters: How to Love Food and Lose Weight'' showed how the Hairy Bikers embarked on a campaign to lose two-and-a-half stone () in three months, and comfortably passed their target weights.

Personal life

In 2014, King suffered an

intracranial aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a cerebral aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by a localized dilation or ballooning of a blood vessel in the brain due to a weakness in the vessel wall. These aneurysms can occur in an ...

from which he recovered after hospital treatment.'Si King Suffered Brain Aneurysm' at Daily Telegraph
Retrieved 6 September 2014 In September 2017, along with his 'Hairy Bikers' partner

, he was initiated into the showbusiness charity the

Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membership an ...

. They were both sponsored by

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...

. King is a supporter of Premier League football team

Newcastle United F.C. Newcastle United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Since the formation of the club in 1881 ...

King lives near Newcastle and has three children.

References

External links

Hairy Bikers Official Google+ Hairy Bikers Diet Club
* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Si 1966 births Living people People from County Durham (before 1974) English people of German descent English people of Swedish descent English people of Italian descent English television chefs English autobiographers English male chefs