A reality TV show gets volunteer to be ‘mummified’

If you thought that the Egyptian embalming method, commonly referred to as mummification, was something of the far distant past think again.

According to the Daily Mail the English Channel 4 television network is going to be airing a “reality show” that seeks to duplicate exactly the methods used by the ancient Egyptians to mummify their kings and queens. The only problem was that they first needed a body to mummify and what better way than to advertise for a volunteer; which they did back in 2010 and created an uproar in the process.

Of course Channel 4 wasn’t suggesting that some healthy person should volunteer but rather someone with a terminal illness. The ad that finally found them their volunteer read – “We are currently keen to talk to someone who, faced with the knowledge of their own terminal illness and all that it entails, would nonetheless consider undergoing the process of an ancient Egyptian embalming.”

The volunteer will remain unknown other than possibly their first name being used in the show, and show title: Mummifying Alan; but representatives have said that the terminally ill man agreed to be a part of the experiment because of his own interest in ancient Egypt and mummies.

The show will air on Channel 4 on Monday, October 24.