What happened to Joan Hannington and her daughter Kelly in real life? --[Reported by Umva mag]

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 — but what really happened? Joan Hannington aka The Godmother is known as ‘Britain’s most notorious jewel thief’Frank Dillane/Instagram ITVSophie Turner plays the jewellery thief in ITV’s Joan[/caption] 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 an 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, 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, Joan was employed at a London jewellers in 1979. 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’. Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Joan said: “I would leave the shop feeling ecstatic. I never felt guilty. I knew the jewels and antiques were insured and I only stole from people who could afford it. FacebookSophie Turner with the real-life Joan Hannington[/caption] “Swallowing diamonds was my life, my buzz, my drug. It was the only thing that I really liked doing … To me, I had a gift. The world was my stage and I played my roles to perfection. “I never got the Oscar — I got the diamond instead.” Joan actress Sophie, who also played Sansa Stark in GoT, was taught the jewel theif’s trick of creating lots of saliva in her mouth to force down the gems using fakes made from solid jelly. Sophie said: “I was given gummy diamonds to swallow. But they were so sticky they didn’t come off the paper. So I ended up just putting the real ones in my mouth. “But they were cubic zirconia, and I didn’t swallow them. “We needed to show it was an obsession — this fascination with this sparkly thing that’s been so unattainable her whole life.” Life of luxury To avoid alerting any suspicion to her crimes, she remained living in her Islington council home. But this didn’t stop her from splashing the cash elsewhere. During the 80s she lived a life of glamour and glitz, which saw her visit a hairdresser every day. She drove sports cars, 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. Joan told The Sun: “My marriage to Benny was supposedly what the Eighties were all about. “Fast cars, fast living, Michael Jackson at the top of the charts, Dallas and Dynasty on the TV. I loved the glamour of that period. “We had a home that was like a palace to whoever came there. Boisie had every room expertly decorated with Victorian

Oct 15, 2024 - 16:58

What happened to Joan Hannington and her daughter Kelly in real life? --[Reported by Umva mag]

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 — but what really happened?

Joan Hannington in her hay day. Supplied from Frank Dillane/Instagram — Joan Hannington aka The Godmother is known as ‘Britain’s most notorious jewel thief’

a man and a woman are standing in front of a diner

Sophie Turner plays the jewellery thief in ITV’s Joan[/caption]

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 an 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, 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, Joan was employed at a London jewellers in 1979.

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’.

Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Joan said: “I would leave the shop feeling ecstatic. I never felt guilty. I knew the jewels and antiques were insured and I only stole from people who could afford it.

two women posing for a picture with one wearing a cross necklace

Sophie Turner with the real-life Joan Hannington[/caption]

“Swallowing diamonds was my life, my buzz, my drug. It was the only thing that I really liked doing … To me, I had a gift. The world was my stage and I played my roles to perfection.

“I never got the Oscar — I got the diamond instead.”

Joan actress Sophie, who also played Sansa Stark in GoT, was taught the jewel theif’s trick of creating lots of saliva in her mouth to force down the gems using fakes made from solid jelly.

Sophie said: “I was given gummy diamonds to swallow. But they were so sticky they didn’t come off the paper. So I ended up just putting the real ones in my mouth.

“But they were cubic zirconia, and I didn’t swallow them.

“We needed to show it was an obsession — this fascination with this sparkly thing that’s been so unattainable her whole life.”

Life of luxury

To avoid alerting any suspicion to her crimes, she remained living in her Islington council home.

But this didn’t stop her from splashing the cash elsewhere.

During the 80s she lived a life of glamour and glitz, which saw her visit a hairdresser every day.

She drove sports cars, 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.

Joan told The Sun: “My marriage to Benny was supposedly what the Eighties were all about.

“Fast cars, fast living, Michael Jackson at the top of the charts, Dallas and Dynasty on the TV. I loved the glamour of that period.

“We had a home that was like a palace to whoever came there. Boisie had every room expertly decorated with Victorian and Edwardian gear, art deco, art nouveau.

“Our flat only cost £27,110 from the council, yet we had about £1million of gear in there.

a woman is pouring a bottle of champagne into a glass

Sophie Turner in ITV’s Joan enjoying a glass of champers[/caption]

“We never had a floor safe or an alarm or even a panic button — just grilles on all the doors, window locks and a load of weapons hidden around the flat.”

Going straight

Not long 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 told The Sun: “It was the lowest point of my life. After Benny died, a business associate of his took out a £75,000 contract on me — although, fortunately the man paid to kill me was a friend of my husband’s and he ran off with his advance.

“Later, I got mixed up with a boyfriend who embezzled more than £1million from my business. So I know what it’s like to be robbed.”

Screengrab from Amazon — Joan’s 2002 memoir, I Am What I Am

The same man, who was a heroin addict, showed up one night at Joan’s flat and pointed a gun at her.

She said: “I challenged him either to pull the trigger or leave.

“He didn’t do either and I wrestled the gun from him because I can fight as tough as any man — and shot him. I missed three times and only grazed his kneecap.”

That was the moment Joan turned her back on crime, deciding to try to raise her son and live an ordinary life.

She admitted: “The money never brought me any pleasure. I decided to go straight. I had more than enough money to last for life.”

Surprisingly, Joan was only ever prosecuted twice.

As aforementioned, she was received a two-year probation order for stealing a car to visit Debbie while she was in care.

a woman in a colorful coat stands in front of a wall that says itv

Joan Hannington as she is in 2024[/caption]

Joan was also sentenced to 30 months in Holloway Prison for using a stolen chequebook when she was 24.

Sadly she wasn’t able to convince social services to return her daughter, whose name has been changed to Kelly in the TV drama.

However her son Benny is now a 37-year-old rapper and Joan has a granddaughter.

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.

L-R: Sophie Turner, Joan Hannington, Frank Dillane/ Supplied from Frank Dillane/Instagram — Sophie Turner with Joan Hannington and Frank Dillane

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.

a woman in a fur coat is reflected in a mirror

ITV’s Joan is a six-part series[/caption]

“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.”

Sophie addded: “Sometimes when you’re doing a show like this, and it’s ‘heisty’ and there’s diamonds and glamour, you get swept away by it.

“You have to remember this was all to provide a stable life for her daughter. It’s really heart-breaking.”

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.

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