ITV viewers settled down for the evening on Easter Sunday to watch the first instalment of the network's latest offering. The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe is the gripping new drama that depicts the real-life story of John and Anne Darwin that once shocked the country.
It tells the story of John Darwin's infamous fake death in 2002 that saw him head off in his canoe in the North Sea after asking his wife to lie about his true whereabouts and claim £250,000 in life insurance. For years, John lived in secret in a bedsit that adjoined the couple's home near Hartlepool - visiting his wife through a door that connected the two old properties.
After five years, the couple decided to start a new life in Panama but after realising their plan wouldn't work, John went to the police station, feigning amnesia. But it's not just the storyline which had viewers talking - the accents were up for debate too, the MEN reports. Now, the show's writer has spoken out on Twitter following criticism of the accents adopted by the cast.
Read more: Where was The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe filmed? Locations for the ITV real-life drama.
John, played in the ITV series by Eddie Marsan, was born in Hartlepool but attended school in Salford. He and his wife Anne, portrayed by Monica Dolan, then later married in Blackhall between Horden and Hartlepool.
One viewer, @mhudson40, fumed on Twitter: "The thief, his wife and a canoe, so, why is it that ITV think people from Teesside speak with a Geordie accent. This happened in Hartlepool and we DO NOT have that accent!!!! Insulting!!!!"
"Watching The Thief, His Wife & The Canoe and I’m yet to hear a single Hartlepool accent….." @EdwardHayesUK said.
@mat_hil quipped: "#Canoe recall a worse attempt at a northern accent? #TheThiefHisWifeAndTheCanoe."
"Unless I am missing part of the story where they are originally from Newcastle, why are they talking in Geordie?! Seaton Carew is more Teesside than Tyneside! #thethiefhiswifeandthecanoe," @Ali_Ali_Ali01 commented.
@jonnymrad added: "As a Hartlepudlian and Headlander, I can’t cope with the geography and accent inaccuracies. #thethiefhiswifeandthecanoe."
But the writer behind ITV's latest drama has responded. In a tweet posted on Sunday, April 17, Chris Lang said: "It's lovely people are so passionate about their own accents! John & Anne of course weren't from Seaton Carew, they only moved there in 2002.
"They were both born near Blackhall & over the next five decades lived and worked in (to name a few) Newcastle, Chester Le Street & Durham."
Replying to one comment on Twitter, Chris Lang said: "Sorry you feel patronised, Lynne, just pointing out they weren't from Seaton or indeed Hartlepool. Hope you can still enjoy the show."
Chris Lang also pre-emptively tweeted about an issue he saw arising before the show began. He said: "I'll say this now, and Ill say it just once, don't @ me that it's a bleedin' kayak not a canoe."
He later clarified: "A canoe is open, a kayak closed and despite it clearly being a kayak he went to sea in, all the papers at the time reported it as a canoe. So we decided to stick with that, rather than go with the title 'The Thief, His Wife and it's a Kayak actually'."
@sarahfesco replied, saying: "I couldn't give a stuff if it's a paddleboard. I'm just looking forward to the drama." @sarahSi80196532 agreed, saying: "Don't care what it was! It was great drama, looking forward to next part tomorrow!"
