Renowned actors, Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan, will play Anne and John Darwin in the extraordinary and compelling ITV drama, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

Based on the true story of Anne and John Darwin, and written by Chris Lang, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe tells how John Darwin, played by Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, Sherlock Holmes, Happy Go Lucky) faked his own death to claim life insurance and avoid bankruptcy.

The drama will focus on how Anne Darwin, played by Monica Dolan (Appropriate Adult, W1A, A Very English Scandal),  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.

The deception was to take its toll on Anne who lied to their sons, Mark and Anthony, for five years whilst her husband, in the early days of the fraud, secretly lived in a bedsit next door to the home he shared with Anne.

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is based upon the unpublished manuscript written by journalist David Leigh who was the first journalist to track down Anne as she was on the verge of setting up a new life in Panama. Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan will be joined in the cast by Mark Stanley (White House Farm) and Karl Pilkington (Sick of It, Derek).

If you want to read more about the case, or the production, the ITV press release has all the details you need.