The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe

Dolan, who nails the look of Anne perfectly, is a complete triumph in the role. ... Dolan's multi-layered performance is contrasted surprisingly well with Eddie Marsan's as John. His portrayal offers the drama some of the most contradictory moments – he is at once completely farcical but also incredibly menacing in tone.

Chris Lang’s delicious rendition of this true-life caper, The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe (ITV), nailed this unlikely scenario, balancing the absurdity of Darwin’s harebrained scheme against his narcissistic, coercive control over his wife. It made it, in turns, amusing, sinister and utterly infuriating that she didn’t run for the hills.

Landscapers took a very different approach, throwing every filming technique in the book at it and creating something wonderfully trippy. But both dramas admitted that there’s always comedy in dark deeds, and both were centred on superb performances from their leads.

Whether or not this was an accurate reading, Dolan was magnificent as a timid, pragmatic but ultimately weak woman manipulated into going along with something she knew was wrong. Her contained horror was palpable and her swing from incredulity to acquiescence completely believable.

Lang made his name on the peerless cold-case drama Unforgotten, and here his droll and disobliging reimagining of the Darwins’ survival of the dimmest ensures that the couple will remain unforgettable.

Not only is the true story of The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe remarkable, but Marsan and Dolan make the Darwin’s scheme seem all the more believable, as well as funny and painful all at once.

The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe never catches fire. The juxtaposition of the ludicrous crime with a gritty depiction of a manipulative, controlling relationship doesn’t work: it leaves both sides of that drama feeling oddly unsatisfying. Not funny enough to lean into its dark comedic credentials, but not serious enough to say anything about domestic abuse.