Eddie Marsan on what surprised him most about Anne and John Darwin’s story

By Helen Daly

Published: Wednesday, 13 April 2022 at 12:00 am

The unbelievable story of Anne and John Darwin will be shown in ITV’s new drama, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe.

The Darwins were convicted of fraud in 2008 after John faked his own death to claim life insurance money needed to pay off his debts.

In a bizarre twist, John lived next door to Anne the entire time as they owned their home and the bedsit next door. He would move freely between the two via connecting doors.

Their story unravelled when they tried to move permanently to Panama (and even were pictured in an estate agents looking for property in a snap that would go viral), but new visa laws meant John would have to have his identity proven by UK police – a problem for a man presumed dead.

But what surprised Eddie Marsan who plays John in the four-part series? It was actually the fact Anne and John loved each other.

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com for The Big RT Interview which will land on 17th April, Marsan said: “I think what was brilliant, and surprised me so much within the writing, was that they loved each other.

“When I did Tyrannosaur 12 or 13 years ago, when I played an abusive husband, the abuse was so extreme, and it was so far away from the norm it was comfortably away from the norm. It was something that the audience could look at and judge, but it wouldn’t challenge them, they wouldn’t have to question themselves.”