A TV drama which filmed in Herne Bay and Maidstone last year finally hits our screens tonight.
Joan is a six-part series inspired by the story of notorious jewel thief Joan Hannington – dubbed ‘The Godmother’ within criminal underworld circles – with the title role played by Sophie Turner.
The actor was Emmy Award nominated for her role as Sansa Stark in hit HBO show Game of Thrones. She’s also appeared in two of the blockbuster X-Men movies
Film crews shot scenes of the show on Herne Bay beach, the Western Esplanade, Avenue Road and Central Parade in May 2023 – recreating the 1980s by bringing in a host of vintage cars from the era.
Filming also took place at the Detling Diner in Maidstone – which also appeared in Guy Ritchie’s Netflix hit The Gentlemen earlier this year.
The show, the first episode of which is broadcast on ITV tonight, follows the story of Hannington and is based on her 2004 memoir I Am What I Am: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Jewel Thief.
She was a leading female figure in London’s criminal underworld during the 1980s, becaming an undetected mastermind in high-stakes jewellery theft. On one occasion she even swallowed hundreds of thousands of the gems to make her escape.
