Is Joan a True Story? Meet the Real Jewelry Thief Who Inspired the Sophie Turner Series

Joan Hannington describes herself as “Britain’s most notorious jewel thief”.

In the late 1970s, Hannington’s life was in great turmoil. She left her allegedly abusive husband, convicted armed robber Ray Pavey, and her daughter Debbie was placed in foster care. Desperate to change her life, she took a job in a jewelry store in London and began stealing from the store’s safe. However, she did not stuff the diamonds into her pockets or purse; she stole them by swallowing.

“The best bank in the world is your tummy. The best safe ever invented,” Hannington wrote in her 2002 memoir. I am what I am.

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She quickly went from amateur thief to one of London’s top criminal minds after meeting her husband Benny Boisie, born Ronald Thomas Hannington, an antiques dealer who taught her more about the art of thievery.

CW and ITV mini-series Joanwhich premiered on October 2 and stars Sophie Turner, is based on Hannington’s 2002 memoir.

“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 her – [we] to capture the emotional truth of her as a character,” said creator Anna Symon, who worked with Hannington on the script Cosmopolitan.

Here’s everything you need to know about the real events that inspired you Joan.

Is Joan based on a true story?

Sophie Turner in “Joan”.

ITV

That! Joan based on Joan Hannington’s 2002 memoir I Am What I Am: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief.

Hannington was born in 1957 into a working-class Irish family. She was one of six children and lived in London’s East End. She ran away from home at the age of 13 after years of alleged physical abuse by her father.

At the age of 17, she married convicted armed robber Ray Pavey. Together, the couple had a daughter named Debbie. Hannington eventually separated from Pavey, who allegedly became abusive, and Debbie was placed in foster care.

Desperate to turn her life around and regain custody of Debbie, she takes a job at a luxury jewelry store in London. Access to the store’s safe was a get-rich-quick opportunity.

“One day I was sent to the safe at the back of the store, where the CCTV cameras weren’t working, to pick up some loose diamonds. I opened the safe and trays of brilliant white stones shone out at me,” she wrote. in his book from 2024 Joan. “My heart was racing, I grabbed a handful of diamonds from each tray and swallowed them. I didn’t know it at the time, but I swallowed about 800,000 pounds of rocks.”

About 12 hours later, the diamonds passed through her system and Hannington disinfected them in a bowl of gin. The store never realized they were short of stock and Hannington sold a few to gem dealers before hiding the rest in a tin she buried near her flat in London.

Hannington quit working at the jewelry store a few months later and eventually met antiques dealer and skilled thief Boisie. He was 17 years her senior and taught her everything from check and loan fraud to forgery.

Boisie and Hannington became the definition of partners in crime, running a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise together — stealing, writing forged checks and dealing fake antiques. Hannington honed her jewelry-stealing skills, often disguising herself to visit jewelry stores. While there, she would try on various diamond rings and memorize the details of one ring. After making a fake ring, she would return to the store and make the switch — pretending to sneeze and swallow the ring before returning the fake ring to the seller.

“I would leave the store feeling ecstatic. I never felt guilty. I knew the jewels and antiques were insured and I only stole from people who could afford it,” Hannington wrote in her 2002 book. “Swallowing diamonds was my life, my noise, my drug. It was the only thing I really liked to do… for me, I had a gift. The world was my stage and I played my roles to perfection.”

The couple spent their millions on cars, clothes and expensive trips around the world. Hannington wrote that she once had “11 fur coats and 2,000 pairs of shoes.”

In 1980, at the age of 24, Hannington was arrested for using a stolen checkbook. She was sentenced to 30 months in prison, but before she reported to Holloway Prison, she married Boisie. The only other time Hannington was arrested was after she stole a car to visit Debbie with her foster family.

According to Luxury Londonafter leaving Holloway, she got another job in a jewelry store and continued to swallow diamonds. Hannington, who earned the nickname “The Godfather,” put her criminal past behind her after Boisie’s death. He died in an explosion while allegedly trying to burn down a house for insurance money.

She decided to “go straight” for her son, Benny, whom she welcomed with Boisie in 1987.

“I had more than enough money to last me a lifetime. I sold [Boisie’s] antique shops, emptied my home and started over in Islington, north London,” she said in a 2003 interview. Scottish Daily Recordaccording to Mirror.

What is Joan about?

Sophie Turner in “Joan”.

ITV

ITV and CW series Joan follows Hannington’s story. The main character, played by Sophie Turner, leaves her abusive husband, Gary (Nick Blood), and puts her daughter, Kelly (Mia Millichamp-Long), into foster care because she can’t support her.

Willing to stop at anything to reunite with her daughter, Hannington gets a job at a jewelry store and takes advantage of unlimited (and unmonitored) access to the company’s vault. He starts stealing diamonds by swallowing them.

When he meets a man named Boisie (Frank Dillane), a thief who works as an antiques dealer, Hannington embraces a life of crime, swallowing countless jewels and making millions.

During the interview with Telly Visionscreator Anna Symon has spoken about working with the real Joan Hannington on the TV series.

“When we first met, she said, ‘I don’t want you to tell my story on screen unless you dramatize or highlight my childhood in some way because I think that explains some of the decisions I made.’ She made that very clear,” Symon told the newspaper. “I would have done it anyway because I wanted people to know where this extraordinary character came from.”

Hannington later supported the fictionalized account of her life in the Joan. “I think everyone here knows me well enough to know if I don’t like it, I’d say yes. It’s fantastic. All the actors – the big parts, the small parts – the writers, they’ve all just done an amazing job,” she said at the premiere, for Digital Spy.

How many diamonds did Joan Hannington steal?

Sophie Turner in “Joan”.

ITV

Hannington herself is not sure how many diamonds she swallowed or the pieces of jewelry she managed to exchange for fakes.

According to her 2002 memoir, she swallowed approximately 20 diamond rings and exchanged more than half a million pounds worth of diamond bracelets for fakes at another jeweler where she worked. This was in addition to more than £800,000 worth of stones she stole from the first shop.

“Benny and I were accumulating thousands of pounds a week in stolen jewels which we kept in the bank in private document boxes,” Hannington said. Scottish Daily Record of her criminal partnership with Boisie. “I had no idea of ​​the total value of our money and property, but it must have been in the millions.”

Where is Joan Hannington now?

Joan Hannington 2024.

Jonathan Hordle/ITV/Shutterstock

Despite her best efforts, Hannington never regained custody of Debbie. She also never served any jail time for stealing jewels. Today, Hannington lives on the south coast of England with her two dogs and remains close to her son Benny, who now has a daughter of his own.

“Congratulations my beautiful mom. A true warrior, a true soldier and a serious woman. Watching your life on film is surreal. An emotional day. You made us all a proud queen,” Hannington’s son, a musician called Benny Banks, wrote on Instagram in September 2024 with a photo of Joan premiere.

According to Luxury LondonHannington still suffers from ulcers after years of swallowing diamonds.

“I’m not complacent about that. I’ve led a certain life, even though I’ve been retired for 40 years. It was all in the 80s and sitting here at 68 with my son and grandson – I’m not a show person, I’m a very private person and we just it’s unbelievable,” the notorious thief said at the premiere, according to Digital Spy.

On September 26, 2024, Hannington published her second memoir, Joan: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Diamond Thief.

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Source: HIS Education