The Hairy Bikers step into Industrial Britain

The Hairy Bikers step into the late Fred Dibnah’s documentary shoes as they go on a journey of discovery through industrial Britain in a new three part series for BBC Two.

The Hairy Bikers: Rebuilding Industrial Britain will over three hours see the duo, 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.”

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.

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.”

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 will transmit in the autumn of 2013.  Fred Dibnah died nine years ago aged 66 after suffering from Cancer for three years, during much of that time he had continued to record documentaries for the BBC.

Fred first became a television personality in 1978 with a documentary about his life as a Steeplejack and demolition expert. Several documentaries later in the 1990s the spotlight switched from his life as he took to presenting programming about everything from steam locomotives, the Victorians and the industrial age.

[Reported by Neil Lang]