The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

Overview:

The extraordinary and compelling story of how John Darwin faked his own death to claim life insurance and avoid bankruptcy will be told in The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe. The drama relates how Anne Darwin's husband, a prison officer, came up with the hare-brained scheme to defraud insurance companies, unbeknownst to their two sons.

Created by:

Chris Lang

Status:

Ended

Language:

English

First air date:

4/17/2022

Last air date:

4/20/2022

Key words:

fraud
panama
insurance fraud
northern england
based on true story
deception
life insurance
fake death
2000s

Seasons

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

4 Episodes

Cast

Eddie Marsan

~ as ~

John Darwin

Monica Dolan

~ as ~

Anne Darwin

Mark Stanley

~ as ~

Mark Darwin

Dominic Applewhite

~ as ~

Anthony Darwin

Carrie Cohen

~ as ~

Anne's Mother

Ellis Jones

~ as ~

Anne's Father

Alice Harding

~ as ~

Louise

Lois Chimimba

~ as ~

DC June Ayoade

Karl Pilkington

~ as ~

DC Phil Bayley

David Fynn

~ as ~

David Leigh

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

Peter McGinn
Written 3 year(s) ago
8
I have seen Eddie Marian a few times in supporting roles, so I was glad to see him as a lead character. The mini-series is based on an actual case and judging from a general perusal of that case, they seem to have stuck pretty close to actual events.

It is not mesmerizing viewing but it held my interest well enough. Marsan’s character is portrayed as being rather irrersistably charming, or close to it. I guess there is no accounting for people’s tastes. Obviously his wife could have done better, but her self-esteem is low.

The main character is clearly located somewhere on along the mentally ill arc or narcissist or sociopath. He only thinks of himself and feels no guilt or much sense of right and wrong. His mental state really isn’t dealt with in this program, though, except in simple terms of how his family is affected by his behavior. Needless to say, we don’t ever see any character growth in his like we do with his wife and sons.

I enjoyed thje show enough to be getting on with,but I can’t see myself watching it again. There are too many other things out there I need to watch.