Joan bosses describe "huge responsibility" to stay true to true story
The new ITV series is inspired by an incredible true story.
It's the season of stellar drama and coming to ITV this weekend is Joan, the anticipated six-part drama starring Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) as notorious jewel thief, Joan Hannington.
Of course, in the world of heists, diamonds and lovers, it's easy to think that Joan may be an entirely fictional series.
But actually, the drama is inspired by the true story of Hannington, who wrote of her wild experiences in the 2002 book, I am What I am: The True Story of Britain's Most Notorious Jewel Thief.
Adapting her story for the screen, though, was a task that the team behind it took incredibly seriously.
Producer Ruth Kenley-Letts (Stonehouse) said during a press conference for the series: “I really wanted Joan to be happy with the scripts we wrote. I always have felt a huge responsibility to make sure that we sort of stay true to her story."
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She continued: "It was really important to me personally that she was happy with the work we did. The way we went about that was Joan read the scripts.
"We had quite a fun time reading them because her agent and I would go round to Joan’s flat every time there was a new script and we would read it out, the three of us. Joan always got to play Joan, I got to play all the other parts and Lucy, her agent, got to read the stage directions.
"For me, I think if you’re doing someone’s story, it’s their story. I would be devastated if, at the end of it, Joan didn’t feel we had been true to her memoir.”
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Similarly, series creator and writer Anna Symon (The Essex Serpent) also said: “I wanted to tell the truth of her character, the truth of the unbelievable complexity within her character but I also wanted the latitude to move away from the chronology of everything she’d done.
"We decided the best way to do that would be to use the book as an inspiration, I could cherry-pick some of the most incredible bits that you wouldn’t believe if you wrote it in a fictional script. Like, Boisie ironing his bank notes – that’s the kind of thing I’d write in a script and someone would go ‘Well, that’s ridiculous, nobody would do that’. Or Joan swallowing diamonds at the stock-taking.
"So, 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 – 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.”
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The new series sees Turner take the lead as Joan, being joined by Frank Dillane (Renegade Nell), Kirsty J Curtis (Harlots), Gershwyn Eustache Jnr (A Spy Among Friends) and Laura Aikman (Archie) in the cast.
The ITV synopsis reads: "When her partner Gary goes on the run, Joan seizes the chance to start a new life with her six-year-old daughter, Kelly. Delving deeper into the criminal underworld, Joan meets Boisie, an enigmatic antiques dealer whose allure introduces her to new levels of danger and passion.
"Through sharp intelligence, irresistible charm, and a talent for impersonation, Joan’s journey is a high-stakes game of survival and reinvention.
"Every heist and every stolen diamond is driven by her singular purpose: to create a secure future for her daughter."
Joan will premiere on ITV and ITVX on Sunday 29th September at 9pm.
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