Viewers tuning into ITV real-life drama The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe were left in a state of shock after spotting a familiar face on the prime-time show
To the audience’s surprise, An Idiot Abroad star Karl Pilkington appeared as a detective quizzing the fraudulent Darwins. People who were still in doubt were shocked to learn, following the show’s end credits, that Pilkington had indeed played DC Phil Bayley.
Viewers immediately reacted with one tweeter writing: "I’m still expecting Karl Pilkington to say B******* any second." Meanwhile, others emphasised how Pilkington’s appearance was a complete surprise and that they ‘didn’t see it coming’.
"It’s great to see Karl Pilkington in a proper acting role (aside from that Bollywood movie. You must be so proud @rickygervais @Stephen Merchant" said Twitter user, @MarkHamilton76
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Of course, this isn’t Pilkington’s only acting role with him having already starred in Ricky Gervais’ Derek as Dougie and a fictionalised version of himself in Sick of It.
The new series tells the true story of John and Anne Darwin (played by Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan respectively), who attempted to claim life insurance after the latter faked his own death. Told through the viewpoint of Dolan’s character, Anne, viewers find out how her husband’s decision impacted upon her own morality.
The drama is based on a true-story with both Anne and John being sent to prison in 2008. In the early 2000s, after a period of severe debt, John devised a plan to take his own death so that he and his wife could claim life insurance. Read more on their true story, here.
A few years after John’s disappearance, both he and his wife moved to Panama in the bid for a fresh start. When we first watch the new ITV series, we meet Anne being hunted by journalists, desperate to catch a photo of the financial fraud. It was the couple’s move to Panama that ultimately gave the game away as a now infamous photo of John and Anne was released online.
The scene in which Pilkington appears sees his character interview John Darwin about his reappearance in the UK following the discovery of the image on the internet.
