Who is Joan Hannington aka The Godmother? Meet the jewel thief played by Sophie Turner in ITV crime drama
AFTER impulsively swallowing diamonds in a bid to steal them, Joan Hannington got a taste for the expensive gems.
The famous jewel thief’s story is now being told in new ITV drama Joan, starring Sophie Turner.
Born in Acton, west London, in 1957, Joan Hannington was the youngest of six children to Irish parents Richard and Josephine O’Leary.
She endured unhappy childhood which included poverty and abuse.
Joan once revealed in an interview how her father regularly tortured her and her siblings.
She said: “My sisters and I would be in the bath on a Saturday night and he would hold our heads down under the water until we nearly drowned.
“He used to beat me up on an almost weekly basis. I’d be stripped nude and beaten with a wet dishcloth or hit across the shins with a cricket bat – it was horrendous.”
Because of this, at just 13-years-old she ran away from home.
In 1974, when she was 17, she married her first husband Ray Pavey who was a convicted armed robber, and they had a daughter called Debbie.
However, her marriage didn’t last, and her child was taken into care.
Desperate to see her daughter she stole a car, a decision she regretted immediately as she was caught and remanded in HM Prison Holloway, before being given a two-year probation order.
Becoming ‘Britain’s most notorious jewel thief’
Hiding her criminal record, in 1979, Joan was employed at a London jewellers.
At the age of 24, it was there that she made a decision that would change her life forever.
On impulse, she decided to steal several diamonds by swallowing them.
“It seemed the simplest way to hide them,” she said. “Then, 12 hours later, once nature had taken its course, I sterilised the gems in a bowl of gin.”
Speaking about why she decided to steal the gems, Joan said in her 2002 memoir: “I just saw those diamonds, and I saw a flat and some money and getting Debbie back.
I would say in the morning, ‘Let’s go to New York!’ By lunchtime, we would be sitting in first-class seats, sipping champagne.
Joan Hannington
“And then, after a while, when it became obvious I wasn’t going to get her back, I just thought: ‘F**k it, I’m going to have a brilliant life then.”
Joan has since estimated that her first diamond haul was worth around £10K.
She has also admitted that at the height of her thieving she had more than £800K worth of gems buried in a biscuit tin in her garden.
It was because of this that she earned the nickname ‘The Godmother’ and is often referred to as ‘Britain’s most notorious jewel thief’.
Life of luxury
To avoid alerting any suspicion to her crimes she stay living in her Islington council home.
But this didn’t stop her from splashing the cash elsewhere.
The 80s saw her live a life of glamour and glitz, which saw her visit a hairdresser every day.
She drove fast cars, and her wardrobe was stuffed full of furs, designer clothes and, of course, diamonds.
The money never brought me any happiness
Joan Hannington
Joan also enjoyed a jet set life, and once said: “I would say in the morning, ‘Let’s go to New York!’
“By lunchtime, we would be sitting in first-class seats, sipping champagne, with £20,000 cash lining our pockets.
Going straight
After her third husband died trying to burn a house down to claim insurance, Joan decided she’d had enough and was going straight.
At this point she had a three-year-old son, and said that she wanted to “do better” for him.
“The money never brought me any happiness,” Joan said in her memoir. “I just wanted to prove I could raise a good child in a straight world.”
Joan was never arrested for her any of the stolen jewellery.
Living a low-key life
After stepping away from her criminal past, Joan decided to keep her low-key life and raise her child.
Her life hit the spotlight in 2002, when she released her memoir, I Am What I Am.
It’s understood she now lives a quiet life on the south coast of England with her two dogs.
Joan’s story told in ITV drama
Joan’s incredible life has now been turned into the six-part ITV drama Joan,
The synopsis reads: “Inside Bernard Jones’ jewellery shop, where Joan works, her attention is drawn to the open safe, its contents glittering with the sparkle of diamonds.
“The temptation becomes impossible to ignore…”
The series coincides with the release of Joan’s updated memoir, Joan: The True Story Of How I Became Britain’s Most Notorious Diamond Thief, published by Ebury.
Becoming Joan
Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner, who was “thrilled” to play the part of Joan in the ITV drama of the same name.
In fact the two women formed a close friendship.
It came after Joan met the actress on the London set of the drama in September 2023, along with her co-star Frank Dillane, who plays her husband Benny Boisie.
“She is one of the most notorious figures in the criminal underworld of London,” said Sophie. “I’m so excited to be bringing Joan Hannington’s fascinating life story to screen.”
How to watch ITV’s Joan
Joan will kick off on ITV on Sunday, September 29, 2024, at 9pm.
The series will then continue the following night (September 30, 2024) at the same time.
The six-parter will continue on Monday and Sunday nights over a three week period, concluding on October 15, 2024 at 9pm.
However, if you can’t wait until then all of the episodes will be made available to watch on ITVX after the first one has been broadcast.