The ITV drama The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe will start this month and the four-parter is based on the unbelievable case of John and Anne Darwin's scheme to escape thousands of pounds of debt.
The drama will focus on how Anne Darwin became complicit in her husband’s deception as she needed to convince the world, their family and friends, the police and insurance companies that he had gone missing in 2002 whilst canoeing off the coast of Seaton Carew in Cleveland where the couple owned two large houses with panoramic views of the sea.
It will start on ITV on Easter Sunday (April 17), and episodes two, three and four will air on the subsequent nights, Monday, April 18, Tuesday, April 19 and Wednesday, April 20. The drama is written by Unforgotten creator, Chris Lang and is based upon the unpublished manuscript written by journalist David Leigh. David was the first journalist to find and interview Anne in Panama.
Read more: ITV Unforgotten series 5: Nicola Walker's replacement announced
The cast is led by Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan as the titular couple. Eddie is known for his long list of starring roles including as Terry in Ray Donovan, Arwel in The Pact and Mr Norrell in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell on the small screen. He's had just as many roles in films, too, with parts in The World's End, 21 Grams, Tyrannosaur, Happy-go-Lucky and he is Inspector Lestrade to Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes. While Monica is also a familiar face with TV fans having been seen most recently in W1A, Black Mirror, Wolf Hall and tonnes more. She's also had film roles in the recent release Cyrano, The Dig and she was also in Pride.
