On Tuesday night, ITV viewers will tune into the third episode of new drama The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe, after millions became engrossed in the first two parts of the series based on shocking real life events from 20 years ago.
The main protagonists of The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe plot and the very real scandal that sent shock weaves round the whole country are John Darwin and his wife Anne, played in the four part drama by Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan. The first two episodes of the much buzzed about ITV drama John cook up the plot to fake his own disappearance and presumed death, before following through on it by paddling out into the sea next to their home in Seaton Carew, before abandoning his kayak and go into hiding.
After camping out in the wilds for a number of weeks, John then hit right under the noses of police who were investigating his missing person case and his and Anne's own sons, by living in a bedsit next to the family home. Episode two of The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe saw John look to broaden his horizons, by laying the foundations on a move to Panama, with him and Anne posing for the photo that proved to be their undoing, after signing for an apartment over there.
READ MORE: What happened to 'canoe man' John Darwin after prison stretch
The final two parts, on Tuesday and Wednesday, will look at how John and Anne were caught, the impact of their shameful deception on sons Mark an Anthony and the court cases that followed. While many people are aware of the 'canoe man,' scam and the fact John and Anne went to prison for it, the sheer amount of money they scammed is less well known.
How much money did John and Anne Darwin scam?
Once accumulated, the amount obtained through deception as everyone, including their sons and a coroner thought John was dead, totalled in excess of a staggering £250,300. While it wasn't public knowledge at the time, John was thought to have been in over £700,00 worth of debt when he decided to fake his own death.
After John retuined to England and walked into a London police station claiming he had amnesia, the now infamous photo of them in Panama was unearthed, with John being arrested. Anne was then arrested at Manchester Airport after she returned to the UK and detained in connection with the allegations of fraud. She appeared in court in Hartlepool the following week to face two charges of fraud—obtaining £25,000 and £137,000 by deception.
On their return to court, John faced an additional charge of obtaining £137,000 by deception, in addition to the existing life insurance charge against both of them for £25,000 and John's separate charge of obtaining a passport by deception. They were then both charged together for obtaining more money from a teachers' pension scheme (two separate amounts of £25,186 and £58,845 ), as well as for obtaining money from the Department for Work and Pensions (two separate amounts of £2,000 and £2,273 ).
After being sentenced to six years and three months, John ended up spending a stretch of two years six months in prison, being released on probation in January 2011. Anne was handed a longer sentence of six and a half years, and was released two months after John.
