Meet the Real-Life Inspiration Behind Sophie Turner’s Character “Joan” in the Story of the Jewelry Thief
Sophie Turner is set to play the role of a jewelry thief in the upcoming ITV suspense drama series, Joan. While the trailer reveals the progress of her character from being a thief to attaining the position of Godmother in the underworld, the story is based on the real person, Joan Hannington.
The latter is known to be Britain’s most notorious thief, who stepped into the odd business after separating from her violent husband. In her memoir, which was released under the title I Am What I Am in 2002, Hannington has described her growing to fame through the business of jewelry robbery.
As for her life story, Hannington rose to fame as a jewelry thief in the late 1970s. After separating from her husband, the underworld personality and her daughter shifted to a foster home.
Soon Hannington landed a job at a jewelry store, where she began stealing diamonds. The stolen entity, however, was not placed in her purse or any safe; instead, she carried out the robbery by swallowing the diamonds.
The robber, in her memoir, wrote, “The best bank in the world is your tummy. Best safety-deposit box invented.”
Joan soon went on to become London’s top thief, as after getting married to her husband, Benny Boisie, Hannington learned the art of stealing from him.
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As for Joan’s character to be painted in the upcoming series, the creator, Anna Symon, who sat down with Hannington for the screenplay, revealed to Cosmopolitan, “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.”
Meanwhile, revealing if ever Hannington felt wrong about stealing the jewels, the former robber shared in her book that there was no episode she could remember where she felt guilty of sneaking out diamonds. Rather, she claimed that she felt ecstatic about doing so.
For the series, Turner stated that she signed the show as the motherly aspect got to her. The actress said to the entertainment outlet that whatever character Hannington possessed, she would go to any lengths to protect her child.
The episodes of Joan are available to watch on ITV.
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