Pushyplumb
VIP Member
I don't know how factually accurate but was a good drama to watch and everyone has said if it was made up you wouldn't believe it.
- Notice
kev1974
VIP Member
re the houses/debt this was the era when banks were throwing money at people to take on mortgages for properties that weren't worth it - the Northern Rock crisis etc that started it all unravelling hadn't happened yet. Also I think they had one big loan across all the properties, or one loan was leveraged against another, either way they couldn't just extract one property and sell it.
As for the secret door one of the police detectives was interviewed in the press somewhere and said yes it's obvious with hindsight but it wasn't at the time, my guess is the secret doors were actually pretty secret and nowhere near as obvious as the drama portrayed them!
ButtonDownTheHutches
VIP Member
From what I’d heard the police were already investigating as John had been spotted by a former tenant & Anne’s colleagues had raised the issue as she was often overheard on the phone to John.
They seemingly weren’t very discreet. Stupidity or arrogance - who knows?
martha82
Chatty Member
I’ve finished episode 3.
Eddie Marsen is brilliant.
I do feel sorry for Anne. The husband was a real arsehole.
I do feel he was extremely controlling & she was stuck.
But also, lying to your children about dying or their father dying when he is still alive is absolutely horrific.
John Darwin was def messed up in the head.
Eddie Marsen is brilliant.
I do feel sorry for Anne. The husband was a real arsehole.
I do feel he was extremely controlling & she was stuck.
But also, lying to your children about dying or their father dying when he is still alive is absolutely horrific.
John Darwin was def messed up in the head.
kev1974
VIP Member
"Where are they now". He's on his way to fight in Ukraine apparently!
www.dailymail.co.uk
Article contains spoilers, obvs, since it's about the real life that the drama is based on.
Where is the 'Canoe Man' now? Darwin found love after divorcing wife
John Darwin has made a new life with a new wife in Manila after divorcing first wife Anne who taught herself IT in prison and is now set up near York with a job at the animal charity RSPCA.
Article contains spoilers, obvs, since it's about the real life that the drama is based on.
Pineapple glitter
VIP Member
I don't believe Anne wasn't involved.
Greenfly125
Well-known member
I wonder how long it would have taken for the whole story to unravel without the photo? Do we think the police were on to them already?
ButtonDownTheHutches
VIP Member
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.
Scotch Mist
VIP Member
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!
www.google.co.uk
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!
John and Anne Darwin's sons now - disowning, suffering and split forgiveness
Canoe man John Darwin faked his own death and wife Anne Darwin lied to their heartbroken sons, Mark and Anthony, and one of them snuck onto the set of The Thief, his Wife and the Canoe
Chunkeylaydee
VIP Member
I’m away with my Inlaws and MIL and I just laughed through it.
I agree.
She didn't want to return to England because she knew they were in a lot of trouble.
I am happy for her that she's reconnecting with her sons.
bourb0nbiscuits
Chatty Member
Watched the dramatised programmes and felt quite sorry for Ann, think it was quite a sympathetic portrayal , but in the documentary where the Police, insurance company we’re giving their story , I definitely felt less sympathetic for her .
ElectricDreams
VIP Member
Watching the documentary that aired after it, John didn't even seem to have a Northern accent at all though Anne did, it wasn't a Teesside accent (she spoke like my Aunty from Durham). However the police and the prison officers had strong Teesside accents so it would have been nice for that to be reflected in the show. Their accents were so generic it could have been set anywhere!I got that John & Anne we’re from Collieries around Durham and had only recently moved to Seaton… so their accents wouldn’t be of a Teessider. However during the scenes with the Police (with Cleveland Police emblazoned in the background) not one of them spoke with a Teesside accent either. Didn’t even try
I still haven’t recovered from Karl Pilkington’s appearance either… couldn’t take him seriously haha!
Kattykat10
VIP Member
Such a very bizarre couple. Enjoyed it but like others had it not been true I would have felt the programme was not believable.
Webster1357
VIP Member
I thought that was him! I said to my boyfriend it looked like the idiot abroad and he laughed at me!
Chunkeylaydee
VIP Member
I’m on holiday down in Hartlepool. We took a visit to Seaton Carew to the beach. Their 2 houses appear to be getting done up just now. They are huge houses compared to some along the sea front. Was it a status thing to JD to have such large houses, a Range Rover etc?
Scotch Mist
VIP Member
It's hard to believe that it wouldn't have been discovered at some point. Surely the sons may have wanted to visit their mum in Panama. It would have been a shock to them if they turned up and found their dad there.
