We've been presented with so many TV experts and enthusiasts in recent years it’s tempting to think they spring fully-formed from a laboratory somewhere, brimming over-enthusiastically with advice to dole out to a thankful public.

The Hairy Bikers have always been a little more – ahem – rough and ready than their glossier counterparts, and this new show goes deep into the mists of their collective past to look at who they were before culinary fame came-a-calling.

“There’s a huge dollop of honesty in there and some daft stories,” explains Dave Myers, the dark-haired biker who is hairy.

“It’s the story of the bikers from birth – it’s even got our baby pictures. We’ve done literary festivals before, like Hay, that have been questions and answers and a chat, and we’ve cooked before at the NEC in front of 2,000 people alongside Gordon Ramsey and James Martin. But with this we wanted to do something that was a bit more of a show – something a bit more exciting than listening to the two of us waffle for a few hours.”

They’ve also taken the bold step of including their first ever screen test, which for non-TV types is a bit like having your pubescent school photo pinned to the noticeboard at work.

“We couldn’t ignore it, really. It’s so crap, but it’s quite funny. It’s an important part of our evolution.”

Both Dave and Si – friends for close to 20 years now – had carved out very respectable careers before bringing their blend of travelogue and cookery show to our screens. Si had worked as a location scout for television and Harry Potter films, while Dave made his living as a make-up artist for the BBC.

“It’s quite a tough industry, and the hours were getting longer and the wages getting shorter. I think the time had come in both our lives when we thought we’d like to do something different. Call it a mid-life crisis if you like, but we just went for it.”

They were able to translate their twin passions for motorcycles and cookery into a successful programme and, seven years later, their easygoing affability is giving them more opportunities than ever before. This new show has been conceived with their pal Bob Mortimer (of Reeves and Mortimer fame) and features some banter, video clips, photos and, of course, a bit of the cookery Dave developed a taste for as a youngster.

“My mother had multiple sclerosis so my dad took over the reins with the cooking,” he says of his teenage years.

“But after 40 years in industry, his attempts were somewhat haphazard. But I had a lot of fun with my dad cooking, and that’s where it started, really. When I left Barrow, I came down to London to study painting at Goldsmiths College, but I ended up being a better cook than I was a painter.”

He sees the duo’s lack of formal training (or indeed a restaurant) as a positive boon in that they’ve only ever presented themselves as ever-experimental amateurs – the kind of cooks a viewer can relate to.

“We’ve been luckier than we could ever have imagined, really,” he says.

“And the best thing about doing a live show is that we’ve actually been able to go out and meet the people who watch the programmes – it really has been one of the best experiences so far. It can feel a bit like living in a bubble otherwise.”

The duo will notch up hundreds more road miles on the tour, the latest journey in the hundreds they’ve taken together over seven years as the Hairy Bikers. Don’t they get on each other’s nerves?

“Yeah, but we’re best mates. We’re like brothers in some ways – we’ve known each other for nearly 20 years now. But we rub along quite well together, really. The only thing is the bike rides in our free time have gone now because we do that for work.”

Next up for the boys is another series of Mums Know Best, in which they scour the length and breadth of the country looking for the secret family recipes the restaurants have missed. Soon after that will be a new, studio-based magazine show.

“We’re going to try to find Britain’s best cooking family,” says Dave.

“There’ll be some cooking, some chat, some guests. It’s what we call a shiny floor show, so we’re going to have to scrub up a bit for it.”

Speaking to a man who has eaten goat’s penis on television, only one question remains – what wouldn’t he eat? “I can’t be doing with tripe. Si loves it. I remember when we were in Romania, one of the national dishes is a tripe soup and it comes in a big dish, and it just smells like a bowl of wee, really. My dad used to eat tripe when I was a kid, where you soak it in malt vinegar and eat it raw. I can still see his Bakelite dentures slipping on the rubbery mess.”

*Doors 6.45pm. Tickets £21.50, £19.50 on 01273 709709.