The Thief, his wife and the Canoe - ITV

New to Tattle Life? Click "Order Thread by Most Liked Posts" button below to get an idea of what the site is about:
I’m watching, and I don’t completely hate it, but I’m not convinced Anne was as innocent in all of this as she’d like us to believe. And whilst they were hardly the most glamorous couple in the world, they’ve made them (her, in particular) far more dowdy than they seemingly were.

And being from the north-east myself, I’m not impressed that they’ve consciously made everything look as run down as possible. I know Seaton Carew is hardly Venice Beach, but I’m not buying that their actual home made the house in Father Ted look flashy and modern. 🙄

It’s all a bit heavy handed in its portrayal of the frumpy, dim couple from a slummy northern backwater who were a bit too think and a bit too greedy.
 
  • Like
  • Heart
Reactions: 18
Yeah, I don't think having her narrating it is a great idea - she's not really a victim and she went along with it all

I recommend the episodes of the British Scandal podcast that covered the case - they go into a lot more detail in the circumstances leading up to it and the police's point of view too, which is really interesting. It's a fascinating case but i'm not sure dramatising it gets that across well. I'll stick with it though and see
 
  • Like
Reactions: 11
I'm quite enjoying it though being a local, the accents are annoying me, as is the fact they are not actually filming in Seaton Carew!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 8
"Where are they now". He's on his way to fight in Ukraine apparently!


Article contains spoilers, obvs, since it's about the real life that the drama is based on.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4
I haven't watched any of this yet but remember the story well when it was in the news.
I was more appalled at the way they treated their sons than the actual fraud. How could they pretend and lie about the father being dead? What a ghastly thing to do to them.

The wife may have been controlled by her selfish husband to a certain extent but she still went along with it. Now he's apparently married to someone else so she lost the trust of her sons for nothing really.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 14
I've just put it on and the accents are annoying me already. The actors are doing Tyneside instead of a Teeside one. Why is this so hard for people to get right?

I'm sick of the 'grim up north' portrayal as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7
I've just put it on and the accents are annoying me already. The actors are doing Tyneside instead of a Teeside one. Why is this so hard for people to get right?

I'm sick of the 'grim up north' portrayal as well.
I feel like the rest of the country see "The North" as one generic area where its a bit grim and we all talk like Geordies. It's like saying everyone from London has a Cockney accent.
I have to laugh whenever I travel up the A1/A19 and the road signs say "The North" as if it's just one place. When you're generally underrepresented on TV something like an accent seems more important than it probably is.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 13
The BBC has a show about this out too - why are there two out at exactly the same time?

If you mean the one that was shown on BBC 4 the other night, that’s from around ten years ago. I think they showed it again to capitalise in the interest from the itv version.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3
I think it’s ace. I’m really enjoying it. I vaguely remember the story from being a kid. It’s BONKERS. I can’t believe it’s a true story. I know it’s in part an imagining but the facts alone are bonkers!

Im from Yorkshire. I don’t care how the north is portrayed. Where I live is a beautiful part of the country & I thank my lucky stars I live here. I’d rather people thought it was tit so they don’t come here 😂 I know it’s lovely so the southerners keep on imagining it’s awful. My large 4 bed detached cost me £300,000. My in-laws live in a smaller house worth £750,000 in a similar area down south. Mad.
 
  • Like
  • Heart
Reactions: 12
I went to the real Darwin house on Sunday, it's just next to the Staincliffe hotel if anyone is local (I live down road!!), I think the shots outside the house are up at Hartlepool Headland
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1
I've watched the first 2 episodes and am enjoying it. He comes across as such a selfish bastard. Eddie Marsan is a good actor and I always like seeing him in a drama.

I do feel some sympathy for his wife but ultimately she did make the decision to go along with his plans, so its only a small amount of sympathy.

Apparently John was sentenced to six years and three months in prison for admitting deception by faking his own death, while Anne received six-and-a-half years behind bars for fraud so she ended up being in prison longer than him!

 
  • Like
Reactions: 3
It’s such an outrageous story that I’d never believe it had it not really happened
 
  • Like
Reactions: 7
It’s such an outrageous story that I’d never believe it had it not really happened
That's so true, if it had been a drama (probably a Channel 5 one) I would have wondered who'd written such an outrageous pile of tit! Knowing it was a true story made it really interesting though, I enjoyed it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 10