Canoe drama leaves viewers in the dark
ITV bosses have been accused of turning the North-east of England into the “dingy” former Soviet Union because of poor lighting on The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe.
Viewers have praised the acting in the four-part drama about the disappearance of conman paddler John Darwin – but said they had to squint to work out what was happening.
One wrote online that scenes filmed in the debt-ridden prison warder’s County Durham hometown of Seaton Carew were “pitch black. I literally can’t see The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe. Must we wait for nightfall or draw the curtains for viewings?”
Another asked: “Why is it so dark? I feel like I should adjust my TV. It’s very distracting.” One viewer was so annoyed by the grim representation of the region that they posted an idyllic beach picture from near the Darwins’ former home, insisting ITV’s version “isn’t what the North-east looks like”.
They added that the production “made it look dark and dingy. This [photo] is what Seaton Carew actually looks like.”
While another said the resort appeared “bleak. ITV are determined to make it into some grey dark dingy s***hole resembling the USSR.”
Moody scenes were set in both Seaton Carew and in the nearby town of Hartlepool.
Darwin, now 71, is played by Eddie Marsan while Monica Dolan is the fugitive’s then wife Anne, now 69. He faked his death in the North Sea in March 2002 so the couple could claim on his life insurance and he hid in their home for years until he was declared dead.
They later both fled to Panama to buy property in the Central American country, where they were photographed at an estate agent’s, before he flew to the UK in December 2007. He turned up at a London police station, claiming to have amnesia.
Both were given six years in jail in 2008 for the scam, and were freed in 2011. They repaid more than £500,000 by selling properties. The series was inspired by the book Out of My Depth by ex-Daily Express and Daily Mirror journalist David Leigh.