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<\/p>\n3. After his father died, food became how they coped<\/p>\n
When Si was eight, his father died. He picks The Chieftains track Boil the Breakfast Early as his second disc, which was played at his dad\u2019s wake, to remind him of his parents.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n Si King in the Desert Island Discs studio.\n <\/p>\n
We shot this pilot on Roa Island in Barrow-in-Furness where Dave lived at the time. It took us about three years to get it off the ground.<\/p>\n
Si on the difficulties of getting the Hairy Bikers commissioned<\/p>\n
Afterwards, food became a way of coping. \u201cWe grieved at the stovetop,\u201d he says. It was how his mum showed care. The two of them became, in his words, \u201ca really tight team\u201d.<\/p>\n
But that care came with side effects. \u201cAt eight I was eight stone\u2026 at 10 I was 10 stone.\u201d His mum sent him to Weight Watchers, where he was the only child, and though he loved the environment it didn\u2019t have the desired effect: \u201cIt was brilliant because you’d have the weigh-in and they’d go, \u2018Hey, our Simon, you\u2019ve lost two pounds. Well done son. Give our Si a clap.\u2019\u201d All the \u201c\u200agrannies and middle-aged women\u201d, would clap. \u201cThen as I left they\u2019d go, \u2018well done son, here\u2019s a Mars bar.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
4. His love of motorbikes started perhaps a bit too young<\/p>\n
Si\u2019s aunt and uncle lived near a crossroads that became notorious for motorcycle crashes. Crashes were frequent enough that bandages were prepared in advance. \u201cMy aunt Hilda would say, \u2018those sheets are worn out, get the scissors, and then just cut them into bandages.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
His uncle George had a pit in his garage where he would repair the broken bikes, and Si started to spend time in the pit fiddling with them. From there, King started tinkering, then at the age of nine he started riding too. \u201cMy first [time] riding a motorcycle was actually a scooter with bits missing off it. I remember riding it down the back lane and thinking, \u2018I love this\u2019. Then I promptly fell off. My uncle George came and picked it back up again because it was way too heavy for me, and he says, \u2018go on, go give it another go.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
5. His early biking days should not be copied<\/p>\n
Soon Si was riding through the estate, picking his mum up with shopping balanced on a barely functioning motorbike. \u201cNo tax, no MOT, no insurance,\u201d he remembers. There was also a local policeman, known as Ginger Eric, who tried to catch them. It became a running game, spotting him, veering off, escaping across fields. He never did catch them.<\/p>\n
6. Byker Grove was his way into television<\/p>\n