Where Was Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue Filmed?
By
1 hour ago
Hint: it’s not Mexico
A suspenseful murder mystery has landed on BBC iPlayer (airing Saturday nights on BBC One), centring on nine strangers stranded in a Mexican jungle following a disastrous plane crash. And to make matters worse, the survivors start dying one by one, forcing those who remain to trace the malicious powers behind their demise before they’re killed off themselves. Starring an ensemble cast from both sides of the Atlantic (think Eric McCormack, David Ajala, Lydia Wilson, Siobhán McSweeney and more), most of the action takes place in a supremely leafy, mysterious and ultimately ominous jungle in Mexico – but Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue was actually filmed on the opposite side of the world. Here’s what you need to know.
Where Was Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue Filmed?
We might be set in Mexico’s leafy heartlands, but Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue was actually filmed in the Canary Islands – Gran Canaria, to be precise. A volcanic island at the centre of the Spanish archipelago off the west coast of northern Africa, Gran Canaria calls Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura neighbours. The island is home to around 860,000 people and is the third largest and second-most populated of the Canaries, while Gran Canaria’s capital city Las Palmas is the largest city across the islands.
With a warm, dry climate, Gran Canaria is home to low-lying beaches to the east and craggy mountains to the west, as well as pine forests – but certainly no jungles. It should come as no surprise then that the jungle we see in Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue is not real: it was created in a studio.
Dan (ADAM LONG) & Amy (JAN LE) in Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue. (© BBC/Eleventh Hour Films/Cristina Ríos Bordón)
Star Lydia Wilson (who plays Sonja) describes filming as a ‘fabulous, strange thing in a studio where the set is all around you but when you look up you see all the lights’. The incredible attention to detail from the set builders includes a plethora of foliage tall and small, as well as a dry soil forest floor punctuated by rocks and moss. But they didn’t go to the effort of installing a sky.
‘It was a nice little circuit-breaker sometimes to just look up and remember that we were not really trapped,’ Wilson adds.
In fact, the closest this Canary Island comes to jungle is the Doramas Forest which sits on the north side of the island, a mountainous sub-tropical laurel forest utilised for hiking and bird watching by locals and tourists alike. Much like the UK’s answer to rainforests, the microclimate here is unique – lush, humid, even misty – compared to the rest of the island’s aridity.
Zack (DAVID AJALA) in Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue. (© BBC/Eleventh Hour Films/Cristina Ríos Bordón)
But co-star Siobhán McSweeney adds that ‘by the end of the shoot’, the fake jungle seemed to be ‘alive’. ‘It was sort of like a micro experiment, like the Big Bang theory in a bottle or something,’ she says. ‘They did an extraordinary job.’
Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue was penned by prolific English novelist Anthony Horowitz, whose novels include the Alex Rider series and the Susan Ryeland series: Magpie Murders (2016), Moonflower Murders (2020) and Marble Hall Murders (2025), the first two having been adapted by the BBC for TV with the third on its way. Indeed Horowitz is no stranger to television: he has written for the likes of Poirot, Murder Most Horrid, Midsomer Murders and Foyle’s War. And his penning Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue was a huge draw for McSweeney who describes her role in the series as ‘a perfect storm’.
Lisa (SIOBHAN McSWEENEY) in Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue. (© BBC/Eleventh Hour Films/Cristina Ríos Bordón)
‘I love this genre and I’m a big fan of Anthony Horowitz’s other work,’ the Irish star says. ‘When I read the scripts I read them like an audience member, so I was really hooked right up to the very last frame. I just couldn’t believe how the story turned around – the twists, the mysteries. Then there was the idea of filming in the Canary Islands for the summer, whereas I usually get to film in Northern Ireland. So, it was like “Let’s have a bit of fun”.’
Luckily the cast and crew weren’t actually trapped in that studio jungle, which Eric McCormack (who plays Kevin) describes as ‘beautifully constructed’ if ‘claustrophobic after a while’. He says his first few days filming in Gran Canaria involved ‘walking through actual gardens, jungles and cliffs’, describing it as ‘great’.
Jungle Holidays Inspired By Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue
Merlin Hanbury-Tenison, co-founder of Cabilla. (© Bex Aston)
Cabilla, Cornwall
For the otherworldly forest feeling, Cornwall’s rainforest retreat Cabilla is a must-visit. An ancient forest dating back more than 3,500 years, the mycelium-filled ground thrums with history and mysticism. A corporate retreat provider, you could visit for one of their consumer-facing retreats: their Unplugged retreat or the Ground & Grow collaboration with The PIG at Harlyn Bay, perhaps – or one of their signature Dirty Weekends.
Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort, Punta Mita, Mexico
Naviva is nestled where the Mexican jungle meets the sea – but your experience will be a world away from that we see in Nine Bodies In A Mexican Morgue. Just 15 tented bungalows are scattered across 48 acres of lush jungle, totally immersed in the surrounding foliage despite being just a stone’s throw from the Four Seasons’ main Punta Mita resort, on a private peninsula jutting into the sea.
Elephants at Yala National Park, near Uga Chena Huts (Uga Resorts)
Uga Chena Huts, Sri Lanka
This all-inclusive resort is nestled deep into Sri Lanka’s jungle, which teems with life, while also being right on the shores of the Indian Ocean. As if a testament to the vitality of the location, elephants often wander down from the jungle to play in the surf at the shore. Expect to be warmly welcomed into this paradisal resort, enjoying one of just 18 cosseting cabins boasting free-standing baths, indoor and outdoor showers, a private deck and pool – all crafted sympathetically with the natural surroundings.
