This week, ITV are repeating The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe, one of last year's most talked about dramas, as the scandal involving 'canoe man' John Darwin is propelled into the primetime spotlight and, after having millions hooked once again, it comes to an end on Wednesday night.
If you aren't familiar with the missing person scandal that caused a stir 21 years ago, you'd be forgiven for thinking the plot of The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe was something entirely fictional, but the fact is, as ludicrous as it sounds, it did happen and was very real for all involved. The story starts when John Darwin went out to sea in a kayak on March 21, 2002. After he then failed to turn up for work at Holme House Prison, the alarm was raised and a huge search operation launched.
The search spanned a huge stretch of coastline, but, with efforts coming to no avail, it was called off and John presumed dead. However, what no-one other than wife Anne knew was that John was absolutely fine and was in fact living in the property next door to the family home, after spending some time camping out in the wild,, as the couple conjured up a fraudulent scam to claim insurance, pensions and benefits.
