THE Thief, His Wife and the Canoe viewers all have the same complaint about ITV’s newest true drama.
The series was criticised for the actors’ “rubbish attempt” at a north-eastern accent.
Based on John Darwin’s infamous fake death in 2002, the plot follows John (Eddie Marsan) and his wife Anne (Monica Dolan) being wrongfully jailed claiming John’s life insurance.
They were jailed for the fraud, with the extent of the parents’ deception shocking the world.
The real-life couple spends more than six years in prison after staging John’s death and escaping to Panama to start a new life.
The show explores the extent of Anne’s culpability and how much she was forced to go along with her husband’s plan.
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Their sons, Anthony and Mark, are shown supporting their supposedly widowed mother for years, throwing wreaths into the North Sea in front of Anne’s home where their father was hiding next door.
But many fans took to Twitter to slate the drama for “insulting” them with associations to the Geordie twang.
One said: “No one in Hartlepool talks like this… b****y hell. WE ARE NOT GEORDIES IN TEESSIDE #ITV #thethiefhiswifeandthecanoe.”
Another wrote: “Can’t believe @ITV got it so wrong with the accents on #thethiefhiswifeandthecanoe They weren’t from b****y Newcastle!”
A third penned: “The thief, his wife and a canoe, so, why is it that ITV think people from Teesside speak with a Geordie accent.
“This happened in Hartlepool and we DO NOT have that accent!!!! Insulting!!!!”
Despite the criticism, the drama was praised for its “gripping” storyline.
The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe continues on ITV at 9pm on Monday.
