I'M LIVING FOR DAVE NOW as well as for myself"

Lili Myers shares how she's rediscovering herself without her Hairy Biker, Dave Myers, following his death from cancer last year

- ELLA DOVE

My husband Dave was a wonderful character. One of the beloved TV chef duo the Hairy Bikers, along with his best friend Simon King, he was the same off-screen as on-screen - friendly, knowledgeable, joyful and playful.

My first encounter with the Hairy Bikers was in 2005, when I was working as the manager of a hotel in Romania. I looked up from the reception desk one day to see two big, bearded British men grinning down at me. Dave and Si were there to film the first-ever Hairy Bikers series for the BBC. I guided them to their room, never imagining that one of these men would become the love of my life.

On the morning the team had been due to start shooting, they were gathered in the hotel breakfast room, scratching their heads. The weather was bad and they had hired someone to help with local knowledge, but they weren't proving to be much use. I suggested some filming locations - and all my ideas made it into the programme!

During the bikers' visit to Romania, I didn't spend much time alone with Dave. But I was drawn to his kindness. He was fascinated by people, other cultures and, of course, food. After they left, Dave began to email me. Discovering the world through his eyes was fantastic. I'd always wanted to travel, and now I was reading about the people of Turkey, the spices of India, the colours of Mexico and the penguins of Patagonia. His messages brought magic into my life. It was as if he had taken me with him.

Dave and I became great friends. However, I never contemplated a romantic relationship. We were living two completely different lives - him travelling and filming, me working in the hotel, a single mum to my son Sergiu, then aged 16, and daughter Izabelle, nine.