exactly. When the deceased is accompanied by a relative it is imperative to keep it decent and especially keep the person's dignity. Dealing with a distressed relative can be as hard as dealing with a "failure" to resuscitate a person.
I believe there was no other alternative, the body couldn't have been put anywhere else. Some BA 777s have a crew rest area in the ceiling, and seeing that this particular person wasn't very slim it would have been way too difficult and dangerous for the crew to carry his body up there.