Filming due to begin on John Darwin ITV series in Hartlepool - these are the Hartlepool areas and dates which will be affected

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The Canoe Man will tell the story of how the former prison officer and wife Anne faked his death in March 2002 to claim his life insurance.

A four-part primetime drama based on the events is in the works, with the Story Films group having secured permission from Harltepool Borough Council to film in the town this coming week.

The production company has written to residents and businesses in the area regarding its plans to film at the Seaton Carew front between 4pm and 9pm on Monday, April 26, as well as from 1pm to 6pm on Thursday, April 29.

The story of how John and Anne Darwin spun a web of lies to cash in on life insurance by staging his death in a canoeing incident in the sea close to their property in Seaton Carew will be told in a new ITV drama.

Filming will take place at the junction between Station Lane and Church Street. There will be a road closure on Thursday and traffic management in place on Monday.

Further recording dates at South Crescent, the Headlands, which will impact on roads, are: Friday, April 30 (1pm to 11.30pm); (on Saturday, May 1 there is no filming); Sunday, May 2 (12pm to 11pm); Monday, May 3 (11am to 11.30pm); Tuesday, May 4 (10am to 9.30pm).

Letters to businesses and residents in the area both said: “We are very aware that we are privileged to be filming in this area and want to work alongside the residents and businesses to ensure the minimum disturbance.”

Regent Street is also set to be closed for some of the proposed filming dates to allow technical vehicles to park near the site.

Some of the filming at South Crescent will involve drone equipment.

With its cast yet to be revealed, the series has been written and executive produced by Chris Lang – the screenwriter behind Unforgotten, Dark Heart and Innocent.

Mr Darwin was released from prison in 2011 after serving half of his six-year sentence. This was almost a decade after the Seaton Carew father first hit the headlines when he was reported missing in the North Sea.

His then-wife, Anne, collected more than £500,000 in life insurance payouts as he secretly hid in their family home - leaving their two sons to believe he was dead.

More than five years later in December 2007, Darwin walked into a London police station insisting he had been suffering from amnesia.

The disappearance case was also the subject of a three-part UKTV comedy series starring David Walliams in 2020.

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