THE release date for a TV series about a bizarre real-life case of “canoe man” John Darwin has been confirmed.
The four-part ITV drama about the conman and his wife, Anne, is being shown in April.
Read more: ITV confirm when gritty drama on infamous 'canoe man' John Darwin will air
The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe will tell the story of how Mr Darwin faked his own death as part of an insurance scam.
It stars Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan and John and Anne Darwin.
Bosses have now confirmed the four part series will start its run on Easter Sunday, in the prime time slot on ITV at 9pm.
The Darwins’ jaw-dropping deception tricked insurers, police and even their two sons into believing the ex-prison officer had died in a North Sea accident in 2002.
The couple started a new life in Panama but the tale unravelled when John came back from the dead in 2007, claiming to have suffered amnesia.
They were jailed for the fraud and the extent of the parents’ deception shocked the world.
Read more: First pictures from ITV drama about North East canoe couple John and Anne Darwin
The drama was written by Unforgotten’s Chris Lang, and was produced by Story Films.
It is based on an unpublished manuscript written by journalist David Leigh, who was the first reporter to find Ms Darwin as she was starting her new life in Panama.
They are joined in the cast by White House Farm actor Mark Stanley and Derek’s Karl Pilkington.
The script, at times funny, gives Anne a sympathetic hearing without shying away from the incredible hurt she inflicted on her loved ones.
The sons, Anthony and Mark, are shown supporting their supposedly widowed mother for years, throwing wreaths into the North Sea in front of Anne’s home where their father was hiding next door.
When the sons visit her in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, John listens to their conversations through the dividing walls.
Writer Chris Lang wanted the audience to debate among themselves just how much to blame Anne.
The final of four episodes shows her efforts to rebuild her family life in a way John – remarried and living in the Philippines – has not.
Her attempts at reconciliation and her obvious feelings of guilt – in counterpoint to John – give the story a fresh twist.
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