Dara O’Briain reveals shocking events that happened off-camera while filming his latest series – when he witnessed the body of a man murdered by gangs.
The funnyman and fellow stand-up Ed Byrne travelled to Central America to retrace a journey made by a group of American adventurers in the 1940s.
While filming Dara and Ed’s Pan Am Adventure for RTE and BBC2, they travelled along the Pan-American highway recording their explits.
The two Irishmen were accompanied by armed guards for the trip when they learned the ins and outs of the illegal drug trade.
Pals: Dara is shooting his new series with friend Ed Byrne | VIPIRELAND.COM
“The bit they didn’t mention in the press releases was this murdered guy we saw on the side of the road outside San Salvador,” Dara said.
“We stopped at this coconut stall and there was this dead body being bundled into a body bag. Not one of those zipped-up ones but a big plastic sack which was put in the back of a pick-up truck.”
The gruesome sight stuck with Dara and reminded him of the dangerous environment that he had found himself in for the upcoming series.
“A police officer told us the dead guy was one of 39 who were shot in gang-related violence that weekend,” he told the RTE Guide.
Shook up: Dara was shocked by the gruesome discovery | VIPIRELAND.COM
“That was a sharp reminder why we were travelling under armed guard, having been told by our local fixer in San Salvador not to mention we had family in London or where we were staying or anything like that.”
Dara and Ed have been close friends since the 1990s with Dara even introducing Ed to his wife.
Dara and Ed’s Pan Am Adventure is on RTE1 on Thursday at 10.15pm
