The latest ITV crime drama to take over our evenings is Joan, which sees Sophie Turner as notorious jewel thief Joan Hannington and follows her character’s journey from mother and housewife to becoming one of the biggest figures in London’s 1980s criminal underworld.
The six-part drama kicked off last night (September 29), and begins with Joan (aka “Godmother”) running away from her abusive partner Gary, and putting their young daughter Kelly in care to keep her safe. What follows is the start of the protagonist’s first steps into criminal activity after she steals diamonds by swallowing them and cultivates a working relationship with thief and antique dealer Boisie (Frank Dillane).
So how much of the series is based on a true story? And what has been embellished for TV? Well here’s what you need to know.
Is Joan based on a true story?
Yes! The ITV six-part series is based on Joan Hannington’s 2002 memoir I Am What I Am: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief.
Screenwriter Anna Symon met with Hannington before writing the series to get permission to tell her story, and the pair worked together on crafting it for the screen.
“I took a lot of anecdotes from the book, but I really hope—and I think I did from Joan’s reaction when she saw it—[we] capture the emotional truth of her as a character, and I could then use that truth and that spirit of Joan but turn it into what I hope is a compelling, entertaining television series,” Anna said.
What is Joan’s real story?
The real Joan Hannington was born in 1957 as the youngest of six children in West London. She left her home at 13 years old and later married the convicted armed robber Ray Pavey, whom the character of Gary is based on.
The pair’s marriage broke down, and just like in the series, Joan put their daughter Debbie into care. Joan then met Boisie Hannington, who was 17 years her senior, and taught her everything she knew about thieving.
They worked together and ultimately got married when she was 24 years old. Joan was then arrested and sentenced to 30 months in jail for using a stolen checkbook.
After being released from prison, she got a new job at a different jewelry store without disclosing her criminal record. She continued stealing jewels, and, in Joan’s memoir, she reveals that during her time there, she swallowed around 20 diamond rings and swapped over half a million pounds worth of diamond bracelets for fakes.
The couple would stash their millions in a bank vault and spend it on designer cars and clothes, and go on luxury holidays, frequently flying first class.
During this time, Joan and Boisie had a son called Benny. Boisie sadly died in a fire in 1987 after planning an arson attack on their house to claim an insurance payout.
Did Joan really swallow diamonds?
Yep! One of the most surprising parts of the first episode was getting to see Joan swallow three little diamonds from the safe in a jewelry shop. And it turns out, this was her precise method of stealing jewels in real life.
Despite there not being security footage or computerized methods to track diamonds as there are now, Joan still went with this foolproof method to secure her jewelry.
The real Joan revealed she used to practice generating salvia in her mouth so she could sallow more rings.
“Best bank in the world is your tummy. Best safety-deposit box invented,” she wrote in her memoir. She would then bury the jewels in a biscuit tin in her garden, which was located in her council flat in Islington.
Oh, and she also used a number of elaborate disguises to help secure more jewels.
Where is the real Joan Hannington now?
After Boisie’s death, Joan decided to move away from her life of crime. She ended up selling his antique shops and focusing her energy on raising her son Benny.
Amazingly, despite her crimes, she was only prosecuted twice: the first for stealing a car to see Debbie, which we see in the series, and the second when she was arrested for using the stolen checkbook.
Joan later revealed in her memoir, which she released in 2002, that she tried to reconnect with her daughter Debbie after social services didn’t allow the pair to be reunited, but didn’t dish on the status of their relationship currently. She also confessed that she found love again after Boisie’s death.
Watch ‘Joan’ on ITV Now!
