The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe writer hits back at double criticism of ITV drama
Viewers of the 'Canoe Man' drama had some questions – but show creator Chris Lang had the answers
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe was ITV’s big Easter Sunday drama, telling the real-life story of ‘Canoe Man’ John Darwin, who faked his death in 2002 in an insurance scam.
The first episode of the drama revealed John and his wife Anne’s financial predicament, and followed them as John set out on their scheme.
However, viewers were confused on two counts by the show.
Firstly, some took to social media to criticise the accents used by the actors playing John and Anne, Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan. The show is set in Hartlepool, but critics thought the actors missed the mark by quite a few miles.
"Eddie Marsan doing an accent straight out of Byker Grove," joked one. While another added: "Since when did we have a Geordie accent if we live in Hartlepool?"
Watching The Thief, His Wife & The Canoe and I’m yet to hear a single Hartlepool accent…..April 17, 2022
The Thief, His Wife, The Canoe and Eddie Marsan doing an accent straight out of Byker Grove, 40 miles north.April 17, 2022
Aside from the accent being completely wrong (they belong 40 miles further North), The Man, His Wife and The Canoe isn't that bad.April 17, 2022
Since when do we have a Geordie accent if we live in Hartlepool.... That Seaton Carew canoe story? Please be more accurate....April 11, 2022
Luckily, show writer Chris Lang – who is also the creator of the hit crime drama Unforgotten – was quickly on hand to set the record straight.
He revealed that the couple weren’t from Seaton Carew in Hartlepool, where the show was set. but had settled there after living many places including Newcastle and Durham.
"It's lovely that people are so passionate about their own accents," he said. "John and Anne of course weren't from Seaton Carew, they only moved there in 2002."
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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.April 17, 2022
Meanwhile, others thought there was a more fundamental mistake in the show – it appeared that John set off on his scam in a kayak, not the 'canoe' of the show's title
I had one problem with #thethiefhiswifeandthecanoe . It looks like a kayak to me.April 18, 2022
Watched 1st episode last night #thethiefhiswifeandthecanoe the canoe is a kayak isn't it ! pic.twitter.com/Fe4aZF2lvAApril 18, 2022
Dear ITV,If you have confused a kayak for a canoe so easily, I'm really looking forward to your Titanic drama set on a P&O ferry at Christmas. Best wishes,Me#TheThiefHisWifeandTheCanoeApril 17, 2022
Chris explained that the programme was accurate in its portrayal of what occurred. However, the title of the show was gleaned from the fact that, when the story became a worldwide sensation, John was quickly dubbed ‘The Canoe Man’.
Chris revealed: “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” – adding a cheeky winking emoji at the end.
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'.😉April 18, 2022
The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe continues on Easter Monday 18 April at 9pm.
Steven is a writer, editor, and commentator with a passion for popular TV and soap operas. He spent 20 years as the editor of Inside Soap magazine, documenting every punch-up and pucker-up in the Street, the Square and the village. As a feature writer, he’s covered TV crime dramas, period dramas and even some real-life star dramas. He’s been seen as a talking head on more TV clip shows than he cares to remember, has a life-long passion for TV sci-fi – the older and creakier the better – and is a slight obsessive about any reality show featuring hotels.