Radio Times: Review by:; Emma Sturgess

Is it possible to make an upbeat documentary about funerals? Almost. This new series, which is surprisingly jolly in parts, follows some of the undertakers who take charge of the half-million funerals held in Britain each year.

At Whitechapel’s Haji Taslim Muslim Funerals, the race for eternal peace is on as soon as the departed departs, while bereaved families can make several visits to the Lilleywhite chapels of rest in Manchester before the casket is closed for the final time.

What comes across most strongly here, even in the unconventional motorcycle funerals organised by biking vicar Paul Sinclair, is the communal element of loss and how we cling together in ritual. For one terminally ill mother who is arranging her own funeral, though, the planning - done in advance to spare her teenage daughters - seems awfully lonely.

About this programme

1/3. New series. Behind the scenes with British undertakers, revealing how they handle the sensitive business of caring for the living and the dead at funerals. The series begins by exploring the ways in which 21st-century ceremonies reflect the lives and beliefs of the deceased, following four services with very different demands. London's Haji Taslim Funerals caters for Muslim families who want their loved ones to be buried as soon as possible after death, while in Manchester Simon Lilleywhite comforts the relatives of a deceased local woman as they view her body for the last time. A terminally ill mother of two in Leeds makes the arrangements for her own cremation, and bikers from across Britain travel to the funeral of one of their number, who has chosen to be transported in a motorcycle hearse. Narrated by Fern Britton.