Tributes after Bernard Hill - the first man to play Hartlepool canoe conman John Darwin on TV - dies at the age of 79

Bernard Hill – who found fame in early 1980s by playing Yosser Hughes in acclaimed BBC drama Boys From The Blackstuff – is perhaps best remembered for his roles in three of the biggest grossing movies of all time.

He starred as Captain Edward Smith in Titanic in 1997 before playing King Theoden in The Lord of the Rings movies The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003).

Hill, who died at the weekend, later played Darwin opposite Saskia Reeves, who played Darwin’s wife, Anne, in BBC4’s Canoe Man.

The hour-long 2010 programme dramatised the Darwins’s deception just two years after they were jailed for plotting to fake his death in a 2002 canoeing accident.

But while the 2022 ITV serial The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe was largely filmed in Hartlepool, Canoe Man was shot more than 250 miles away in Suffolk coastal town Southwold.

John Darwin was jailed for six years after admitting seven charges of deception and one of falsely procuring a passport.

His wife was locked up for six-and-a-half years after she was convicted of 15 charges of dishonestly obtaining money and transferring criminal property.

Lindsay Salt, director of BBC Drama, said after Hill’s death was announced: “Bernard Hill blazed a trail across the screen, and his long-lasting career filled with iconic and remarkable roles is a testament to his incredible talent.

“From Boys From The Blackstuff, to Wolf Hall, The Responder, and many more, we feel truly honoured to have worked with Bernard at the BBC.”

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