Viewers slam Anne Darwin after her first TV interview for only showing emotion when talking about HERSELF not her sons who she told their father was dead 

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The wife of canoe conman John Darwin claimed today that she will regret telling her sons their father was dead for the rest of her life.

Anne Darwin, 64, who was jailed in 2008 after helping her ex-husband fake his death in a 2002 kayaking accident, also admitted she had expected they would be caught.

Mrs Darwin took part in the fraud so the couple could cash in on his life insurance - before telling her two sons Mark and Anthony that their father was dead.

But as the mother from County Durham gave her first TV interview today, she was criticised by viewers for showing emotion only when talking about herself. 

Canoe conman's wife: Anne Darwin, 64, who was jailed in 2008 after helping her ex-husband John fake his death in a kayaking accident in 2002, gave her first TV interview today

Thoughts: Speaking with This Morning’s Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, Mrs Darwin said it was �?very strange’ and a �?surreal thing’ to watch old TV footage from the time

One was Laura Pearse, who tweeted: 'Anne Darwin hasn't shown any emotion when talking about letting her sons down. Only when she's talking about her sentence.'

Other viewers said they had 'no remorse for her' and one complained: 'This woman is not a victim, she's a criminal. Should not have been on to plug her book.'

Meanwhile another viewer said on Twitter: 'Her 6.5 years prison sentence is nowhere near as harsh as the torture her sons felt thinking their dad was dead.'

Speaking with This Morning’s Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, Mrs Darwen said it was �?very strange’ and a �?surreal thing’ to watch old TV footage from the time.

She added: �?(John) always wanted to appear as a success. His image was important to him, he wanted it to look like he’d made something of his life.’

Appearance: The mother from County Durham gave her first TV interview today, with ITV

Moving onto his huge debt, Mrs Darwin told the show: �?He started to buy rental properties. And he just kept buying more and more… Yes, I was aware [of the debt].

�?It was a nightmare to be living through and I couldn’t see any way out of it. I pleaded with him to declare bankruptcy and he just wouldn’t hear of it.’

�?I never knew what kind of mood he was going to be in, or what letters were going to be lying on the doormat from debt collectors.’

Mrs Darwin, who was imprisoned at HMP Low Newton in County Durham, claimed things had become so bad that she considered taking her own life.

She added: �?There was many occasions where I’d sit and look out at the sea and wonder what it’d be like to just walk into the sea, to end it all and not come back.

Reaction on Twitter: Mrs Darwin was criticised by viewers for showing emotion only when talking about herself, while another said she had 'no remorse for her'

�?It was only the thoughts of my family, my sons that prevented me from doing that.’

Infamous case: Mrs Darwin, from County Duham, took part in the fraud so the couple could cash in on Mr Darwin's life insurance

When asked how he convinced her to go along with his plan, Mrs Darwin replied: �?John had always took the lead in financial matters. I wasn’t a confident person.

�?I had no self-confidence at all. He was always the one that would say, “it’ll be alright, we’ll manage”... That was his theme that ran through all of his dealings.’

She added: “I always thought that that £50,000 life insurance was related to the mortgage, I didn’t realise it was a separate policy. I thought it was something we had to take out.”

Recalling the day her ex-husband �?went missing’, she continued: �?It was an awful day, I went to work as normal. I really can’t remember the journey.

�?I worked a normal day as best I could knowing what was happening at the end of the day. 

'I collected John from the beach and that was when he set his plan into motion of actually disappearing.’

Mrs Darwin said: �?I had no idea of anything of that scale and magnitude would happen [following the search and rescue teams].

Shocking lies: Recalling the day Mr Darwin (left, in a police mugshot) �?went missing’, Mrs Darwin (right, pictured in 2007) said it was 'awful'

On camera: CCTV from Hartlepool police station of when Mrs Darwin was taken into custody

�?I knew they’d look for him but didn’t realise it’d go on for days and weeks before the search was called off.”

�?John had gone back to Northumberland coast first and it was a few weeks later that he came back to the house.’

Brothers: Mrs Darwin said she hugely regrets telling the couple's sons Mark (front) and Anthony (rear) that their father was dead

On telling her sons that their father has passed away, Mrs Darwin confessed: �?That was an absolute nightmare, but it was my doing.

�?That is something that I will live to regret for the rest of my time… The emotions [at the time] were genuine emotions, but for the wrong reasons. I was in bits.’

And when asked how tough life was during the four years he was �?missing’, Mrs Darwin said: �?We were constantly looking out of the window.

�?If the doorbell rang I always looked to see who it was… and we used to make a judgement call if it was OK for him to stay or go on an upper floor.’

Meanwhile, on getting caught, Mrs Darwin admitted: �?I was expecting that to happen as soon as he came back. He was convinced he would get away with his story of amnesia.

�?I never expected him to get away with that at all. But I was just relieved that everything was coming to an end now and that all the lies will end.’

Mrs Darwin’s story has been told in her new book Out of my Depth, which has been serialised in the Daily Mail. Profits will go to the RSPCA and RNLI.