'The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe': Conman John Darwin's son came to set in disguise

One of the sons of the infamous "canoe man" John Darwin wore a disguise in order to take a sneak peek at the filming of new ITV drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe.

In the four-part series, Eddie Marsan plays Darwin and Monica Dolan portrays his wife Anne, with whom he planned to fake his own death in a canoeing accident in 2002 to bank the life insurance payout.

The couple ultimately received six-year prison sentences when their scam was uncovered, with both released on probation in 2011.

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The story became a tabloid sensation when John walked into a London police station in 2007, claiming to be suffering from amnesia as to the events of the previous five years.

None of the Darwin family members were involved in the production of the drama, which is partially inspired by journalist David Leigh and Anne's account of the story in 2016 book Out of My Depth.

Despite their lack of involvement, the Darwins couldn't stay away from the set, with a family member making an impromptu appearance during filming in the seaside town of Seaton Carew.

At a Q&A event for the show at Bafta HQ in London, Marsan revealed that one of Darwin's sons turned up "in disguise" on the first day of filming and that the cast and crew didn't find out until later.

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He and Dolan explained that one of the sons had turned up to watch some of the filming, concealing their identity with a baseball cap and a COVID mask.

The production never received any feedback after the son's visit and none of the Darwins have spoken publicly ahead of the drama's transmission on ITV.

Marsan said he didn't feel the need to contact John Darwin in person before taking on the role, instead drawing from his interviews in the media and public persona.

He added: "I think if John had the self-awareness to be able to give me some kind of insight into himself, he wouldn't have done [the crime].

"So I'd rather not [meet him]. I don't need to sit and listen to someone like that."

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Dolan said she gained most of her understanding of Anne Darwin from watching and listening to interviews and confessed the character is "still very mysterious to me really".

She added: "Whenever you see somebody interviewed on TV, you have to remember that that's how they behave in a public situation when they're nervous.

"Then [you have to] translate that to how they would behave in private. So certainly, if I actually met her, I think I would probably be sort of too engaged with her to watch her, if you know what I mean."

Writer Chris Lang explained that Leigh, who broke the Darwins' story for the Daily Mirror, still has "a good relationship" with Anne Darwin and spoke with her about the show.

He added: "I think Dave hopefully has been able to reassure her that it is as sympathetic a telling of her story as is possible given what she did."

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Lang explained that Leigh and Anne's book was not the only source for the screenplay, which also drew on court transcripts, police interviews and press coverage.

"You look at the research material, and and then you take a position," he said. "I'm never saying that it's an empirical truth. I'm saying it's an interpretation of a lot of research material."

Lang hopes the show will provoke debate and provides a particular interpretation of what happened, shining the spotlight on John Darwin's manipulative and coercive behaviour towards his wife.

But the show also highlights the suffering of Anne's sons, to whom she lied repeatedly over the course of more than five years, while knowing their father was alive and well in a bedsit next door.

"I think when a mother, particularly, does what she did, to her two boys, I think it hits a particular nerve and I think people will have very strong feelings about it," Lang added.

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Lang said: "We're not being prescriptive about it. We're setting out an interpretation — I think a reasonable and intelligent interpretation of a huge amount of material that leads us to a position.

"Sure, we've taken a position. But it's presented as a thesis."

Despite Anne's perspective being a key part of the storytelling, Lang was keen to state that the programme does not "glamourise" or condone her actions.

"The prism of television, you could argue, does [glamourise]. But I think it's an incredibly honest, warts-and-all telling of the story," he said.

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"It doesn't flinch. It's not dishonest, ever. It depicts what happened. I don't think people people are going to be coming away thinking that what they did was a bit of fun.

"I think, particularly as you see the effect on the sons, you really understand what a tragedy it was and what a dreadful thing they did. So I didn't pull any punches."

The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe will air on ITV later this year.

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