The thief his wife and the canoe: spoilers !!

[the80sweregreat]

Thought I'd start a spoiler thread !
I'm just on episode four
It's an intriguing drama

I’ve just binged all 4. He comes across In it as a narcissist with psychopathic behaviour. I don’t think he knows what love is and is incapable of feeling it. He threatened suicide if his wife didn’t go along with his plan. He had killed all her confidence in herself until she felt incapable of managing a life without him. The bit I struggle with was how she lied to her boys and the rest of her family . At that point even if you were a victim of coercive control, which I believe she was, how can you bear to see your children utterly broken and keep up that deceit until you are caught? She did a truly terrible thing there that is hard to understand, but I’m glad she’s reconciled with her sons. For all she hurt them so terribly, I came away feeling desperately sad for her. The acting was amazing all round and it felt so real. In as much as something so horrific can be entertaining, I couldn’t stop watching it once I’d started.

I've just watched the documentary after finishing the drama series, I think Ann comes across a lot less meek and controlled in real life interviews than she is portrayed in the drama.
John comes across as vile, still seems to think it was a big joke and he's so clever. What a dick.

The sons are better off without them tbh.

Tried to watch it but the accents piss me off. We don't have Geordie accents in Hartlepool!

@QuestionableMouse l noticed that as well

I don't think Anne was as innocent as she was portrayed she wanted him declared dead so she could get the insurance money she went along with it all

sarkymarky. When Anne phoned to put in the first insurance claim and was told because there was no body she would have to wait 7 years and pay the monthly contributions in that time in order for it to be valid, John told her she had to make out she and the boys couldn’t move on without a body or a death certificate and to bring the inquest forward on emotional grounds. She did go along with that but it was his insistence that she do it.

The program is skewed to make her look like his victim when there is no way she was. She was as up for it as he was.

I’m assuming the series was based off her book hence why it’s very much in her favour.

The whole series is on Britbox if you want to watch without the adverts

Omg just started watching

On ep2 and I am obsessed

Vile pair both of them

Weren't they on the verge of bankruptcy?
In which case they both might be more likely to break the law.

I just can't believe she never told her sons and watched them suffer. It seems completely unbelievable to me. I think maybe the sons knew, but when it all came out the parents didn't want to implicate them? Otherwise it's insane

@XelaM , on the other thread with no spoilers 1 of the first posters said her ex worked with 1 of the sons and how damaged he was by it. I don't think the sons knew.

He told her to do it in the phone call from prison if I recall, threatened her if she didn't

I binged the lot yesterday and it’s been in my mind a bit today. I was quite torn between the obvious coercion and general bastardness by John and the fact she could have put a stop to it. I know in the drama she said she didn’t want to lose him and he was all she had known as an adult and I do believe he had a hold over her. But as he wasn’t there all the time, she worked so wasn’t trapped at home, and she had her boys….I don’t know why she didn’t leave him and the whole thing behind her.

That in itself just shows what kind of person she is. Who on Earth could watch their kids suffer thinking their dad has died when she knew it was all a scam?! She could have easily told them

It was very biased towards Anne. I’m always wary of TV shows ‘based on real life events’ because they have a tendency to do this. Going purely off the ITV portrayal, John is a narcissist and possibly also a sociopath. Anne was quite a feeble character in an abusive marriage. The fact John remarried and moved away from his son’s and grandchild speaks volumes about his character though.

Absolutely bonkers story either way, crazy he thought he’d get away with returning to the UK with ‘amnesia’. Brilliant acting throughout.

I loved ep 1+2 but 3+4 were too sad, and too much in her favour. Very much painted as an abusove relationship.
I also watched the bbc drama, and the itv documentary after. The documentary is much more measured and shows her as she is, a liar and thief.
What I can't get over is how he was allowed a passport afterwards. He lives in thr Philippines now. After all that identity fraud.

I really did feel for her. But she did lie to her children. It seems very unjust that he has been able to get remarried and go off to live his life.

I don’t know the area so I didn’t notice the accents were wrong as posted up thread. I can’t watch Broadchurch because the accents are so off.