John Darwin's canoe scam story goes on TV

Mar 23 2010 The Journal

BACK-FROM-THE-DEAD canoeist John Darwins astonishing story is set to air as a TV drama.

Canoe Man is a one-off drama about Darwin, 59, and his wife Anne, 57, who are serving more than six years each in jail for their insurance scam.

The couple, who lived in Seaton Carew, near Hartlepool, embarked on a new life in Panama after Darwin faked his death in March 2002.

His plot was unravelled after he turned up at a police station in December 2007, claiming he was a missing person suffering from amnesia.

A photo of Darwin and his wife was discovered, as the couple enjoyed themselves in Panama during his disappearance exposing them as fraudsters whose web of lies even cruelly deceived their sons. Darwin was again exposed last year after he tried to sell his memoirs from behind bars for s1m.

Viewers can watch the hour-long programme on BBC4 at 10.45pm on March 31. Actor Bernard Hill, who starred in Titanic as the ships captain, will play John Darwin.

British TV actress Saskia Reeves will play Anne Darwin.

The BBC drama was written and directed by Norman Hull, and filmed on location in Southwold, Suffolk.