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'My funeral parlour is like walking into a spa'

Kevin Duala,BBC Radio Merseysideand
Jonny Humphries,North West
News imageChannel 4 Hayley McCaughran, who has dyed red hair tied back and is wearing a light brown suit jacket and trousers over a black top, stands next to a light wooden coffin with the words 'Forever Draped in Elegance' engraved into the side. Next to her are her colleague, a bald man in a light grey suit, and a woman with black hair and wearing a similar suit to McCaughran. Channel 4
Hayley McCaughran (left) with her staff at the "spa-like" Butterflies Rising funeral parlour

A Liverpool woman who runs a "spa-like" funeral home features in a "raw and emotional" documentary about her very non-traditional business.

Hayley McCaughran left the beauty industry to open her own funeral parlour following the death of her mother.

The 39-year-old and her staff at Butterflies Rising Funeral Care in West Derby were followed for months by a Channel 4 crew to film The Fabulous Funeral Parlour.

McCaughran told the BBC she had "wanted to turn my pain and grief into something positive" after the loss of her mum from cancer in 2019.

Speaking about the documentary, which will be screened later on Channel 4, McCaughran said: "It's very, very raw emotion and what people will see is the care element that goes in behind the scenes, and how we emotionally get attached to our families."

Explaining her dramatic career change, she said: "I've been in the beauty industry for over 20 years.

"I'd looked after people with aesthetics and stuff, making them feel good about themselves, and that's what I did for my own mum with the hair and make-up."

News imageChannel 4 Hayley McCaughran, who has dyed red hair tied back and is wearing a light blue suit, stands next to a pink striped coffin holding a black cane. Next to her are her colleague, a bald man in a light grey suit, and a woman with black hair and a man in blue scrubs. Channel 4

After convincing her father - now a silent partner in the business - that she was serious about her change in direction, she set about creating what was far from the traditional image of a funeral parlour.

"Ours, when you walk in, is like a spa," she said.

"We've got a 10ft waterfall, it smells like baby powder, you've got a halo sitting sitting here, we've got an angel swing.

"It's almost like you can describe it as Instagrammable, but it's not what it's all about, it's about when someone walks in they feel relaxed and calm and they know that their loved one is being cared for in a gorgeous environment - they're not just left in a bathroom or a cold chapel."

McCaughran said her ethos was bringing the personality of the deceased person in their care back to life - whether through making sure they are dressed in their best outfits or wearing the right aftershave.

And if the families want a funeral to be a celebration rather than a sombre affair, Butterflies Rising is more than happy to oblige.

"Last week we had a lovely gentleman from Anfield, and at the end we were all singing and dancing to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

"We're dancing at gravesides, you know, jiving with the family when we bring our speaker because that's not something I was told I could have at the graveside with my mum."

The Fabulous Funeral Parlour is on Channel 4 from 22:00 GMT on Wednesday and will then be available to watch on More4.

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