THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND THE CANOE - ITV 9pm - EASTER SUNDAY TO WEDNESDAY. TV PACE. NO SPOILERS

[Blondeshavemorefun]

Real life story

John a former teacher and prison officer fakes his own death in 2002 via a canoe - with the help of Ann his wife to claim Life insurance and avoid bankruptcy

It is based on an unpublished manuscript by reporter David , he was the first one to find and interview ann after a boot of the couple was seen 5yrs later in 2007

Ann knew but not the sons who believes their dad was dead

I generally love anything Eddie Marsane does but this is not his finest work. He seems to be having a good time though.

The accents are a bit all over the shop and certainly don't have the County Durham/Teesside twang they should but any North East accent is tricky for anyone but the most diligent of actors.

I'm enjoying how easy it was to let this run on. Police weren't triangulating phones the way they do now, the internet was much more basic and there were a lot more phone boxes. I think Anne was such a believable 'victim' that it would have been easy for the police to have not been hugely suspicious. Although I don't understand how they didn't uncover the level of debt they were in which would have prompted deeper digging. I think Cleveland Police saw it as a routine missing person at sea and treated it as such. Ringing in advance regarding the search didn't surprise me. They weren't expecting to find anything, it was a tick box exercise and they needed to know she would be in. Real policing isn't Line of Duty and smashing doors in. It's often mundane and routine. It's only because we know what was going on in retrospect that we expect the police to be suspicious.

BlueSpottedGiraffe I hadn’t thought of that.

I remember the news around this very clearly, both when he disappeared and later (I was working with Hartlepool Council on their Shoreline Management Plan when he dissapeared, so familiar with that stretch of shoreline), and I have been enjoying this, watched the first 2 episodes last night with my 13 year old. He was ok with 2 seconds of bare bum!

I’ve always been slightly fascinated by this case. (Also “Indian Head Man”, whose body was found on the moors above Oldham in early 2016). It’s just too brazen to be true now; but mobile comms, ANPR, internet, cctv, messaging etc were so much more basic twenty years ago. It’s kind of hard to grasp if you’ve grown up with modern technology.

On a purely vain note - John is meant to be the same age as me when he dissapears - I do not look that old!

I was convinced that they lived in Panama and went ' missing ' over there, I think I was just confused tbh and it was a while ago when he was discovered, but I do remember the story on the news. It was huge and the idea of living in a wardrobe was bizarre. Although obviously he was in a much bigger area and able to still be cared for by his wife too , which I wasn't aware of back then. The photo in the brochure did for them both!
Agree that today it would be harder to do this , as we are much more tracked these days, less working red phone boxes too.

Massive spoilers on This Morning now as they are interviewing the man who caught him.

I'm not sure that this will win any awards for dynamism or high quality acting, but the story is so fascinating, and there's something quite comforting about the relatively slow pace and gentle accents, I'm really quite enjoying it.

What was with all the connecting doors?

@TokyoSushi

I'm not sure that this will win any awards for dynamism or high quality acting, but the story is so fascinating, and there's something quite comforting about the relatively slow pace and gentle accents, I'm really quite enjoying it.

Agree, really enjoying it!

@TokyoSushi

I'm not sure that this will win any awards for dynamism or high quality acting, but the story is so fascinating, and there's something quite comforting about the relatively slow pace and gentle accents, I'm really quite enjoying it.

Me too @TokyoSushi ! I love a good drama, but sometimes they are so quick paced and confusing. This one is just ambling along nicely..

I can’t believe she’s supposed to be 54, looks like she’s been made up to be a lot older than that.

@AutumnOrange

The actress who plays Anne was also in an episode of Inside No 9 (the episode where it is played in reverse) and played a murderer in an Agatha Christie - I really like her.

That was a genius episode. They all are. New series starts tomorrow.

I think the Ann actress is great ! If she was like this in real life , no wonder she got away with it for so long ( she had to do more than him when you think about it !)

Be interesting how tonight’s reappearance will happen

Did he really just expect to travel back and say I’ve lost my memory for 5yrs

I've read a few ' amnesia' ( fiction ) books !
It rarely ends well though

I caved in as I couldn't sleep and watched the last episode
I did really enjoy this little series , hard to imagine him
Fighting in Ukraine 🤔

Started a spoiler thread ( I know it's a story people may already know about !)
Can't do links, but it's on telly addicts

Crying at the thought of him going to fight in ukraine.. I mean ffs 🤦‍♀️

@GellerYeller

His second wife says he's in Ukraine with good insurance?! Rightyo love. What on earth makes her think a 70 odd year old convicted insurance fraudster with fantasist tendencies and no military training would be insured for that?

Someone else married him???

There's another drama about the Darwins called Canoe Man (iplayer) with Bernard Hill and Saskia Reeves.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads - re them only being around 50, I said the same to DH - only 51?!
I really hope I don’t look as old as ‘Anne’ - maybe people looked older 20 years ago - 50 is now the new 40!! I don’t wear a fleece and blouse that’s for sure…

I'm 44 and don't own a blouse!

He really was a strange man. He was quite happy to put his sons through that heartbreak and never see them again! Absolutely astonishing really. For money!

an hour long dramatisation was on bbc4 on saturday, confusingly, very rushed,
but he is now according to his second wife, gone off to ukraine to fight the russians, and has a good life insurance

guess who didnt read the thread

The acting is this isn't great tbh