'I'm the real Joan - I've never heard of Sophie Turner until now'

The actual Joan Hannington has shared her genuine feelings about being depicted by Sophie Turner in the upcoming true-crime series on ITV.

The colorful series that takes place in the 1980s draws its inspiration from the true story of Joan Hannington, who wrote "I am What I Am: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief."

At one time in the 1980s, Joan, who is now 68, earned the nickname "the Godmother" and gained notoriety as one of the UK's most accomplished diamond robbers.

Sophie Turner, known for her role in Game of Thrones, will be playing Joan in an ITV miniseries that premieres this Sunday night.

With all the buzz surrounding the eagerly awaited series, the real Joan Hannington has shared her thoughts on being depicted by Sophie. She admitted that she was unaware of the actress's popularity.

During a question-and-answer session about the show, the real Joan shared that she was unaware of Sophie before, but believes "they couldn't have picked anyone better."

"They definitely picked the right person for the role. The best part for me was that I had never watched Sophie in any of her other projects. I usually go to bed at seven every night, and since I'm hooked on TikTok, I don’t spend much time watching TV. This actually worked out in my favor, as it meant I didn’t have any previous performances to compare her to," she shared.

However, it wasn't only Sophie that she didn't recognize; the ex-jewel thief admitted that she had never heard of Frank Dillane, who portrays her husband Boisie Hannington, or any of the other actors in the cast.

I stepped inside and didn't recognize Frank or anyone else there. I was completely unfamiliar with all of them, and that was actually pretty nice.

The only downside to having a stunning actress portray me? "I feel a little envious since she’s younger and leaner."

She confidently stated, "I believe she and everyone else here knows me pretty well, and if I had a problem with it, I would definitely speak up."

"I've lived a particular lifestyle, although I must admit, I've been retired for 40 years now. This all dates back to the 80s – just wanted to mention that!"

"However, hats off to Madame—she's done an incredible job," Joan remarked, applauding her co-star's performance.

The creators shared that Joan played a significant role in the development of the series, and they aimed to ensure that she was pleased with the end result.

In a delightful surprise, her son, who goes by the name Benny Banks, makes a brief appearance in a scene depicting Joan and Boisie's initial encounter.

"It was incredible because the initial scene we see in the pub with the bartender was performed by Joan's son, Benny, wasn't it?" Sophie shared.

"It was really great to experience that moment because it was when his parents first met, and he was there with us. We had the chance to spend time together, and it felt both strange and amazing. Overall, it was meaningful for so many reasons."

Unveiling The True Joan Hannington

The actual Joan was the youngest of six siblings. She dropped out of school at the age of 13 and married her first husband, Ray Pavey, who was 27 when she was just 17.

When Joan was 18, she welcomed her first daughter, Debbie. However, when Debbie turned four and Joan’s husband was incarcerated, she made the difficult decision to put her daughter into foster care.

Joan took a car without permission to see her daughter, who was in foster care, but she was apprehended by the police. This incident marked her first experience with breaking the law.

After Debbie and her first husband parted ways, custody was granted to her affluent foster parents.

Joan turned into a diamond thief after swallowing £800,000 in loose diamonds from the London shop in the West End where she was employed. She got the job using falsified references, a detail that is shown in the series.

She later met her husband, with whom she spent eight years married and a total of 11 years together. Joan once referred to him as "the best at building fences, a skilled thief, an excellent jeweler, and an antiques dealer."

In her book, she mentioned, "We likely handled millions—several million, in fact. While that doesn't seem like a significant amount of money today, especially in the context of drug transactions, back in the Eighties, we were some of the first criminals to reach millionaire status without resorting to street-level dealing."

At the peak of her criminal endeavors, Joan would pretend to be an affluent American. She would enter a store, charm the employees, and try on a ring. While she engaged them in conversation, she would fake a sneeze and secretly swallow the genuine jewelry, swapping it out for a fake one that she had specially crafted.

"The greatest bank in the world is your stomach. It's the most reliable vault ever created," she stated in her book.

Joan left her life of crime shortly after her husband, Boisie, passed away in an explosion caused by an arson attack.

Sophie Turner Calls Playing Joan Her Career Highlight

Sophie talked about portraying such a glamorous character and referred to the role as the most exciting experience of her career.

"It was incredible. It was the highlight of my professional life. I believe that portraying someone like Joan, who is so complex and, as Richard mentioned, has a great sense of humor, is a unique opportunity. She's experienced a lot of hardship, is incredibly driven, and embodies so many different roles—mother, lover, deceiver, and even a thief. There's just so much depth to her character..."

"Retired!" Joan exclaimed during the Q&A session, creating a funny moment.

"However, she truly embodies so many qualities in just one individual. I could feel it deeply. It was an incredible joy to portray her. It's truly amazing that her story is based on real events – or at least inspired by them!" Sophie promptly clarified.

The actress mentioned that, like Joan, she is also a mother and could understand the worries Joan had regarding her daughter, who was given the name Kelly in the show.

She is the central figure in this narrative, and even during the scenes that didn't feature Kelly, Richard would approach me almost after every take to ask, "Where's Kelly?" It served as a continuous reminder of her significance and the driving force behind her actions.

There are moments when I reflect on how, when working on a glamorous show filled with heists and diamonds, it’s easy to get lost in the excitement. However, we must not forget that the ultimate goal is to create a secure and stable life for her daughter, allowing them to reunite. It's a deeply emotional narrative, so we made sure to stay focused on that aspect, keeping our enthusiasm in check and ensuring that it remained grounded.

When Sophie was asked how she gets ready for emotional scenes, she responded, "I'm a Pisces, so I'm naturally quite emotional. I find that listening to music and similar things helps me."

"As a mother, talking about anything related to kids comes naturally to me."

Joan will premiere on ITV1 and ITVX on Sunday, September 29, at 9 PM.

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