Mirror stars in TV Canoe Man
New series on £1m fraudster who faked own death at sea
THE extraordinary story of the “Canoe man” is to be turned into a new TV series – with the Daily Mirror in a starring role.
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is based on the crimes of John Darwin, the real-life Reggie Perrin who faked his own death at sea in a £1million insurance scam.
The father-of-two “disappeared” after taking his kayak out in Seaton Carew, Co Durham, in
2002. He was reported missing by his wife Anne, who claimed pension, mortgage and life insurance payouts.
She lied for five years to their unsuspecting sons as John lived in a secret room beside their home. Screenwriter Chris Lang said: “If I’d tried to sell this project as an original story, it would never have got further than the pitch. It’s just too far-fetched.”
The pair moved to Central America before John returned home, walking into a police station to claim he had amnesia.
His lies had unravelled when the Mirror ran a front page story under the headline “Canoe’s this in Panama?” on December 5, 2007, with a picture of the pair in an estate agent’s office.
It uncovered the scam and led to a trial after which both John and Anne were jailed for more than six years. The Mirror story will feature in the series along with the first interviews with Anne in Panama by our ex-head of news David Leigh. Filming is due to start next month with Stephen Graham, Ewan McGregor and Gina McKee linked to possible main roles. Richard Laxton will direct the drama and ex-Det Supt Tony Hutchinson, who brought the Darwins to justice, has helped the production team.