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Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Paul Kenyon officially died of a heart attack in Haiti in October this year and I attended his funeral. The series producer even cracked open a bottle of champagne to celebrate.
Another example of how fickle the world of television is? Not at all, we were celebrating getting closer to exposing 'dead men walking' - the fraudsters who fake their own deaths for life insurance pay-outs.
There are around 50 cases a year of people caught faking their own deaths to escape creditors and collect insurance money. We wanted to fake Paul's death and, according to Byron Bales of First Services who investigate insurance fraud, the Haitian capital city Port-au-Prince is the place to go for those seeking to play dead.
I asked Paul if he would like to attend his own funeral. He did not look very keen. I then explained how crooked lawyers and funeral directors in Haiti will, for a price, help people fake their own deaths.
Also, as we record weddings, Haitians video funerals. It was a gift - assuming of course there were no mishaps. Paul liked the idea and we were off.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the West and corruption is rife. It has also seen much political upheaval over the years which has put off many would-be tourists.
In Port-au-Prince we went to 'Funeral Street', so-called because funeral parlours line the streets. Battered old hearses, which would never pass an MOT, were parked outside. But I guess roadworthiness is the least of your worries should you be travelling by hearse.
We were looking for Ronald - a man we were told specialised in faking deaths. With hidden cameras we met him in a funeral parlour.
It was one of those surreal moments when Paul issued the immortal lines, "I have come to Haiti to die." Then, sensing that life in Haiti was cheap and that everything had a price, he quickly added, "I don't really want to die, obviously, it is an insurance thing!"
Ronald smiled and assured us he was vastly experienced and had made lots of films to back up bogus insurance claims. The video could even have mourners present - we would piggyback a genuine funeral. We shook hands.
But Ronald, Haiti's answer to Quentin Tarantino, had a ghoulish idea that would make Paul's death look even more convincing. We went downstairs to find a split-top coffin waiting for us.
Paul could barely bring himself to touch the coffin let alone get into it. Through fear alone he did not need any makeup although I did have to mop his brow - dead men don't sweat!
The funeral was held the next day, later we picked up the video and now Paul is officially registered as being dead in Haiti. Somehow I do not think either of us will go back - not in this life anyway!
(BBC)