Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has confronted the mystery of spontaneous human combustion in a new documentary.

The rock star investigated the phenomena which appears to have caused more than 100 people to have caught fire, independently and without explanation.

He said that he could not avoid getting involved after hearing about several shocking cases. In one example, the body of former Folkestone resident Barry Soudaine was found completely burnt in his kitchen. There was no sign of a fuel source, and the room was otherwise unscathed.

Dickinson will present his research – including experiments with fire, chemicals and animal carcasses – in a one-off hour-long documentary on Sky One.

"I've always been fascinated by spontaneous human combustion," he commented. "I jumped at the chance to find out why some people allegedly burst into flames."

His show, Inside Spontaneous Human Combustion will air at 10pm on Bank Holiday Monday.