The Hairy Bikers take on a new kind of journey for BBC Two
The Hairy Bikers take on a journey of discovery through industrial Britain in The Hairy Bikers: Rebuilding Industrial Britain, a new series for BBC Two.
This commission sees The Hairy Bikers - Si King and Dave Myers – move into a new area of documentary programming.
Si King says: “The British Isles was and is the home of engineering pioneers who have designed and built amazing machines that change people’s lives. Uncovering their stories will be an unforgettable adventure and it means a lot to us as both our families have strong ties to industry.”
Dave Myers adds: “Si’s grandfather worked in the pits as a winchman and my family were ship workers in Barrow-in-Furness, or the ‘Chicago of the North’ as it was known. My mum kept links to the shipyards working as a crane driver and rediscovering more about my family’s past will be an emotional journey as I’ll get a glimpse of what their lives were really like.”
The three episodes of The Hairy Bikers: Rebuilding Industrial Britain will follow Dave and Si around the UK on vintage motorbikes as they rediscover and help to fix a number of lost treasures of the industrial age.
Each episode will cover different themes within the industrial revolution - agriculture, transport, and industry. The Bikers travel the length and breadth of the UK to meet those with a passion for both keeping the skills of their ancestors alive and restoring the machines that kept industrial Britain moving to rediscover how each development was significant in the transformation of the British Isles.
Si and Dave will not only learn how to re-forge the wheel of a steam train, renovate rusted cogs and master hot riveting, they’ll also uncover secrets of their own past and get a glimpse of what life was like for their forefathers.
The Hairy Bikers: Rebuilding Industrial Britain was commissioned for BBC Two by Kim Shillinglaw and will transmit in the autumn of 2013. Executive producers for the series are Tom Brisley for Arrow Media and Tom McDonald for the BBC.
