THE actors taking on the roles of infamous “canoe man” John Darwin and his wife Anne have come under fire from viewers for their “geordie” accents.

Eddie Marsan and Monica Dolan are playing the pair for a drama The Thief, His Wife And The Canoe, which started on Sunday night. 

Teessiders watching the show took to social media to voice their opinions about the show.

The four-part series, which started last night, was filmed around Hartlepool, Seaton Carew and Middlesbrough last year.

Read more: John Darwin: More pictures released from canoe man ITV drama

While the episode on Sunday was well-received, viewers were quick to point out that the accents were a little bit off.

However, writer Chris Lang pointed out the couple had moved to Seaton Carew in 2002.

He said: "It's lovely people are so passionate about their own accents! John & Anne of course weren't from Seaton Carew, they only moved there in 2002. They were both born near Blackhall & over the next five decades lived and worked in (to name a few) Newcastle, Chester Le Street & Durham."

 

This is what some of the viewers had to say:

'Note to people from outside NE England. People of Hartlepool and Teesside don’t talk Geordie. Seaton Carew is a busy little seaside resort with fish shops, micropubs, arcades, shops and ice cream parlours.'

'Watching The Thief, His Wife and The Canoe and I’m yet to hear a single Hartlepool accent…'

'The Monkey had a more convincing Poolie accent! Nice shots of Hartlepool Headland but it's other end of town from Seaton Canoe!'

'I feel for Monica Dolan, playing Anne Darwin. She’s from Middlesbrough! She knows those accents aren’t right!'

'The Thief, the 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!!!!'

'I saw the trailer, I won’t be able to watch the programme. We do NOT have a Geordie accent in Hartlepool'

Monica Dolan is actually from Boro but is speaking with a rather fake Geordi accent

But not everyone was in agreement.

'As a Teesider I think the story of the man in his canoe is bloody hilarious. Lots of people criticising the accents but Monica Dolan who plays Anne was born in the Boro'

'Locals outraged by it being filmed not in Seaton Carew and the inaccurate accents: Relax. It's a drama, not a documentary.'

'Monica Dolan is actually from Middlesbrough so I don’t understand the fake Geordie accent'

The drama is retelling the bizarre real life story of how Mr Darwin faked his own death as part of an insurance scam.

Read more: ITV 'canoe man' actors only spoke in Hartlepool accents during filming