Joan star Sophie Turner explains real-life episode 1 Easter egg

Bringing certain elements of her life to the screen, we follow Joan as she goes on the run from an ex-partner and comes to meet Boise (Frank Dillane).

Described as an "enigmatic antiques dealer whose allure introduces her to new levels of danger and passion," there's certainly plenty of sparks flying between the pair once they meet – and it's their first scene together onscreen that holds a special place in the production's heart.

Speaking in a press conference for the series ahead of its release, Turner spoke on a panel and revealed: “It was amazing because the scene where we [Joan and Boise] meet first in the pub, the bartender was played by Joan’s son Benny.

"Which was so cool to have that because it’s the moment his parents meet and he got to be there, we got to hang out with him. It was such a bizarre, wonderful moment so it was special in many, many ways.”

The team behind the series also expressed how important it was to them to stay true to Joan's real-life story with producer Ruth Kenley-Letts (Stonehouse) also saying: “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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As for Turner and her preparation for the role, which was based on a real person, she actually didn't meet Joan Hannington until pretty close to filming.

Turner revealed: “We actually didn’t meet until really quite close to filming started, I think it was maybe a week or so, something like that. So I kind of had an idea of what I was doing with the character, I pretty much had it."

Turner continued: "There’s so much in Joan’s book and it’s so written in her own voice, I kind of soaked that up – I read it like nine or ten times, I think. So really, the last piece of the puzzle was meeting Joan.

"The moment Joan walks into a room, she is the star of that room, she’s the diamond. It was her mannerisms that I hadn’t quite got and it was just the essence of her that I was missing. When I finally met her, I saw this kind of magnetic woman and I really truly understood why Boise, why so many people, were drawn to her the way she was drawn to her jewels.”

Joan will premiere on ITV and ITVX on Sunday 29th September at 9pm.

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