Several of the Gogglebox cast hit out at Anne Darwin for her 'unforgivable' betrayal of her sons as they reacted to the real-life drama about her and husband's fake death scam on Friday night's show.
The highlight of many people's Friday nights in, the popular Channel 4 show was back for another new episode this week, with the cast reacting to the likes of new dating show Romeo & Duet and Apple TV's Roar, which included a sex scene involving a duck, as the likes of The Malones and Jenny and Lee looked on horrified from their couches. And in the second part of Friday's Gogglebox, the pairs and families got the chance to cast an eye over the drama that's had everyone talking this week - ITV' s The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe.
While sounding like something taken straight from the craziest of film scripts, the four part series was actually based on the very real deception carried out by John Darwin and his wife Anne two decades ago, when, with the couple facing mounting debts, John decided to fake his own death, with Anne in on the whole thing. John made it look like he'd disappeared at sea, after going out in his kayak close to the couple's home in Seaton Carew, when in fact he stayed hidden away from years in a bedsit right next door!
READ MORE: What happened to Anne Darwin? Bitter divorce and tell-all book
The couple were eventually found out after John walked into a London police station in 2007, claiming to have no memory of the last five years, but an incriminating photo of him and Anne posing in a Panama property office as found online. As well as lying to police and insurance companies or years, Anne also made sons Anthony and Mark believe their dad was dead. And that is something the Gogglebox cast could not comprehend.
They were shown a clip of Monica Dolan in the role of Anne, consoling one of her children, telling him: "I think we've lost him, I really do" and, on seeing it, Lee exclaimed: "Oh my god! Anne!" Taking aim at Anne, Annie told husband Ronnie: "That's unforgiveable isn't it?" Ronnie replied: "That is lying to your kids," as Annie once again remarked: "That is unforgivable."
John and Anne Darwin both ended up spending time behind bars, after scamming well over £250,000. After both were handed sentences of over six years, John was released in 2011, with Anne following him two months later.
The couple then got divorced, with John now living with his new wife in the Philippines. Anne is still in the UK and is believed to have reconciled with her sons.
