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 death at sea in a £1m insurance scam.
The dad-of-two “disappeared” after taking his kayak out in Seaton Carew, Co Durham, in 2002.
He was reported missing by his wife Anne, who played the grieving widow to claim pension, mortgage and life insurance payouts. She lied for five years to their sons as John moved into a secret room next door to 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 couple moved to Panama 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 is this in Panama?” on December 5, 2007.
It uncovered the scam and led to a trial when both John and Anne were jailed for more than six years.
The Mirror story will feature in the new ITV series along with the first interviews with Anne in Panama by our former head of news David Leigh.
The Darwins split in 2007, with Anne moving to York and John now remarried in Manila.
Filming is due to start next month but ITV has not confirmed who will play
the couple. In 2010, Bernard Hill played John while Saskia Reeves was Anne in a BBC 4 drama.
David Nath will direct the new show and ex-Det Supt Tony Hutchinson, who brought the Darwins to justice, has helped the production team.
Tony, 61, now a crime writer, said: “It is one of the most amazing stories.”
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