Some people may remember the incredible , when the news broke in the papers that a man who had gone missing several years previously while out on his canoe had actually faked his own death.
However, for others, the story of – starring Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan in the cast on ITV – may be a .
In the early 2000s, the couple were in , that the real John, who worked as a prison officer, decided to pretend that he had disappeared at sea so that he and Anne could claim back life insurance money.
Not only was the scam far-reaching, with Anne having to convince her own sons that their father was gone, but it actually appeared to work for several years.
That is, until an incriminating photo of John and Anne taken at a property agent’s office in Panama was , with the picture taken four years after John’s supposed death.
John decided to head back to the UK to try and persuade everyone that he’d had amnesia for the past five years.
Even that lie did prove to be convincing for a short while… but in the end, the couple were found out, their lies exposed and their crimes punished.
Where are John and Anne Darwin now?
While John and Anne were imprisoned for their crimes, they have both since been .
As one would expect, when they experienced freedom once more, their lives did not revert back to how they were before.
In 2008, both of them were found guilty of fraud, receiving prison sentences of almost equal length – John being sentenced to six years and three months in the clink and Anne six years and six months.
Three years later, they were released, with John coming out in January 2011 and Anne two months later.
The couple had been married for 35 years by the time they were arrested and convicted, having tied the knot in December 1973.
However, it was the end of the road for their relationship when the pair divorced shortly afterwards.
, exchanging his vows with his second wife in 2015.
He and his spouse – who is more than 20 years younger than him – live together in Manila, the Philippines, where they work at a market stall.
Anne, meanwhile, lives in the north of England and is retired.
Most importantly, she was able to reconcile with her two sons, who previously denounced both her and John in a public statement, when they told the media that they wanted no further contact with their parents after being duped into believing their father was dead.
Not only is Anne a part of their lives, but she is also a part of the lives of her grandchildren after her sons resumed contact with her.
The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe airs tonight at 9pm on ITV and will be available to watch on ITV Hub.
