The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe writer Chris Lang has shared his "unexpected joy" after tuning into Channel 4's Gogglebox and seeing the cast's reaction to his latest television series. Chris, who is also the creator of Unforgotten, is behind the latest gripping drama that depicted the real-life story of John and Anne Darwin.
The ITV series, which launched on Sunday, April 17, focused on how Anne became complicit in her husband's deception as she started 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. You can read more about it here.
The series was told from the viewpoint of Anne as viewers found out how her husband's decision impacted her own morality. Following the final episode, writer Chris thanked fans on Twitter and wrote: "Thank you for going on the TTHWATC journey. I love writing stories that end in a very different place to where they started & that allow us to at least try to understand human nature a little better. Your responses suggest we achieved that."
Read more: Gogglebox's Dave and Shirley told to 'move house' after discovery at home
The four-part drama was praised by viewers who called it a must-watch and described it as "all kinds of wonderful" and "devastating storytelling". You can read more on the reactions to it here. The series also gripped the cast of Gogglebox who reacted to it in the latest instalment of the Channel 4 show.
Cast members including Caerphilly-based Dave and Shirley, Jenny and Lee and Sophie and Pete were left shocked as the events unfolded and the lie snowballed, especially when Anne lied to her sons. After tuning into the reactions, writer Chris said featuring on the Channel 4 show was the "highlight of his career".
He told his 21,000 Twitter followers: "Caught up with #Gogglebox last night and watched them watching #thethiefhiswifeandthecanoe. Highlight of my career!!
"Watching people responding so brilliantly to our story was unexpectedly joyful. So thank you @C4Gogglebox."
The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe is available on ITV Hub now. For more showbiz and television stories, get our newsletter here.
