A writer from The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe has clapped back after viewers blasted a "brutal" issue.
ITV's gripping new drama based on the true story of John and Anne Darwin premiered last night. The show explores how Anne, played by Monica Dolan, became complicit in her husband’s deception as she started to convince the world, their family and friends, the police and insurance companies, that John had gone missing in 2002 whilst canoeing off the coast of Seaton Carew in Cleveland.
In the first episode, viewers were introduced to the couple's financial issues and showed how John decided to fake his own death to claim £250,000 in life insurance. They successfully pulled it off and John went into hiding while Anne consoled her sons.
READ MORE: ITV The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe: Where are Anne and John Darwin now?
However, viewers following the show were distracted during the first episode and took issue with the accents of the characters. John Darwin was born in Hartlepool, County Durham but attended De La Salle College in Salford.
He and his wife Anne married in Blackhall between Horden and Hartlepool. In Sunday's episode, some viewers from Hartlepool felt the character's accents were Geordie and didn't represent the accent of people from Hartlepool.
David said: "Oof, that attempt at the Hartlepool accent is brutal."
Rosy tweeted: "#TheThiefHisWifeAndTheCanoe I love Monica Dolan and Eddie Marsan apart from their 'North East accents. I'll stick with it, as it's based on a true story and it looks like it'll still be a good programme."
Sarah commented: "We definitely don’t talk like that in Hartlepool!"
Chris added: "Not sure us Hartlepudlians sound so Geordie."
However, a writer from the show has responded to the complaints on Twitter. Chris Lang posted: "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."
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe continues tonight at 9pm on ITV and ITV Hub
Receive newsletters with the biggest and breaking TV and showbiz news by signing up here
