The show may not go ahead if participants are not found

A terminally ill patient is being sought to donate their body to be mummified for a Channel 4 TV show.

The programme will explore the mysteries of ancient Egyptian embalming, which was believed would help people reach the afterlife.

Adverts have been placed asking for dying patients interested in participating to get in touch.

Channel 4 said: "If the scientists are able to find a donor, we would be willing to follow the process."

It is understood the project - which has been proposed by production company Fulcrum TV - is in its very early stages and may not actually be made.

The idea was uncovered when an executive producer from Fulcrum TV, Richard Belfield, spoke to an undercover journalist posing as a possible volunteer.

He was quoted as saying it had been suggested - although it was not obligatory - that the body be placed in a museum exhibition to enable people to understand the mummification process.

It is not the first time Channel 4 has tackled the subject of death and the human body.

In 2002, the first public autopsy in the UK for 170 years was broadcast on the channel.