Hairy Bikers star Si King has revealed he barely recognises the person he was while recovering from a life-changing brain haemorrhage in 2014.
Opening up to Davina McCall on her Begin Again Podcast, the 59-year-old spoke candidly about the near-fatal ruptured aneurysm he endured more than a decade ago. He said: "It was 2014. I look back at that man and I don't recognise him... It was full of contrast."
Marriage breakdown and recovery
At the time, Si was married to his former wife Jane, the mother of his three children. The couple went their separate ways in 2016, following more than 27 years together.
The celebrated chef disclosed that the breakdown of his marriage was partly a consequence of the turmoil surrounding the haemorrhage and the toll it took on those closest to him, the Mirror reports.
Talking to former Big Brother star Davina, he said: "We got divorced in the end. And, you know, nobody wants to bring that to your kids or your family... It had a profound effect on my family. And thank goodness, you know, Jane and I are great, great mates and I adore her, I think she's a fabulous woman."
Close call with death
Davina pressed Si on just how close he came to losing his life while hospitalised in 2014. He admitted he was "pretty close" to death owing to blood in his spinal fluid.
Si revealed that he grew concerned about how his sons, Alex, James, and Dylan might cope if he didn't survive. He continued: "And I signed off... that is a salient moment that you just go, right, 'goodbye'".
However, he credits Dave Myers, the other half of the Hairy Bikers who died in 2024, with helping him through using the comfort of food. He said: "Two days later, Dave comes up... and he snuffled us in a load of Marks and Spencers pork pies and some cheesy Wotsits."
Cause and childhood loss
When questioned about what triggered the medical emergency, Si said: "The haemorrhage was brought on by high blood pressure and stress... It was pretty clear about two years after the aneurysm that I had a breakdown, really... And when I fell, my knees properly hit the floor."
Part of Si's worries about how his sons would manage should he not survive stemmed from recalling bidding farewell to his own father. The chef explained he was just eight years old when he was brought to hospital to see his dad for the last time.
He described how his sister had to prepare him for what was unfolding after his dad Graham experienced a failed kidney transplant in 1975. He said: "We were all lining up to say goodbye because he hadn't made it, because the anti-rejection drugs weren't as sophisticated as they are now."
It was his father's death that sparked Si's passion for food, explaining that he and his mother "grieved around the stove". He said: "I'd cook with Mum. But the only problem was, for each year, I was the same in stone."
The star continued by saying he shouldered a "major amount of responsbility on" following his dad's passing. He believed it has "coloured and formed" his character and his outlook on life. He says he came to understand he is a "fixer", adding: "I want to fix stuff. I don't want anybody I know and love to be in distress or to be worried about anything... And I'm really hard on myself as well."
