Joan is a thrilling six-part drama on ITV1 and ITVX that tells the true story of Joan Hannington and her notorious rise in the 1980s as one of the best diamond thieves.  In a desperate bid to escape her troubled past and provide for her daughter, Joan embarks on a tumultuous life of crime.
Here’s a recap of everything that happened in Joan episode 2.Â
The second episode opens with Joan calling Kelly from a phone box. As she speaks to her daughter about seeing her on Thursday, she runs out of money and the phone cuts out. She heads to beneath a bridge and starts digging a hole. She throws in her loose diamonds and buries them. As Joan has nowhere to go, she sleeps in the back of an empty bus parked by the beach.
In the morning, she heads to Hannington Antiques to see Boisie. She’s impressed as he sells to a customer and he mentions a warehouse that he won’t take her to as his whole life is in there. Instead, he propositions her for a job. He says, first, they need to tidy up her last one.
Outside Bernard Jones Jewellers, he tells her to go in and make up a story, or otherwise when he realises the diamonds are missing and so is Joan, Bernard will tell the police her name. She goes in and tells Bernard her dad has lung cancer and that she needs to go to Scotland. She also mentions that Linda, the other saleswoman, has severe money problems, to sew a seed of mistrust in his mind.Â
At the pub, Boisie buys a stolen cheque book from a thief that he needs for Joan and their next job. They meet in a cafe to discuss the job. Boisie says it’s a job of two halves – first, preparation. He gives her the stolen cheque book and asks her to practice her signature, Mrs R. Hamilton. She decides her name is Roxy and he tells her to go and use the cheques to steal some clothes. Once she’s done that, they’re going to Spain. Joan says she needs to be back by Thursday to see Kelly.
The trip to Spain is to courier jewellery – three high-value pieces lifted from a house in Mayfair. They’ll meet his friend, Albie, there to sell the goods. As Boisie instructs Joan, she heads to the shops, picks some clothes, and follows his tips. That is until he tells her to go right back to the flat. Instead, she goes for afternoon tea in a fancy restaurant before heading back to the store in a wig.
Back at the flat, a man comes to check out, and buy, all the stolen goods Joan has taken. Boisie is impressed again by Joan’s talent and she argues with him about wanting a cut of the sale. He hides the money in his back pocket and tells her to come and get it. As they flirt, he goes in to kiss her, and she instead takes the money and walks away. After taking half, she comes back and kisses him.
The next morning, she learns Boisie went to prison and that’s how he’s learnt everything he knows. He hands her the jewellery in a briefcase to carry, but she decides she’ll wear the jewellery instead. At the airport, Joan nervously boards the flight with Boisie and she’s pulled aside to wait for passport control. Panicking, the passport officer comes… to return her passport that she left at the desk.
In Spain, Boisie tells Joan to act dumb around Albie’s wife as she doesn’t know what he does for work. He then explains that they were cellmates. They meet Albie, his wife Val, and their son, Jonny. After Boisie and Albie exchange packages, Joan questions Val and she says her husband imports things.
Back at the hotel, Joan asks Boisie why Albie hides things from Val. He defends him, but Joan says she won’t be like Val again, how she was with Gary, and that she wants to run her own life. They play lovingly in the sea together and back at the hotel Boisie invites Joan to move in with him. She rejects his offer as she says she needs to get her own place for Kelly.
The next day, Joan brings back a dog to give to Albie’s son, Jonny. Boisie laughs, but at the club that evening, Val is happy and they dance together while the men talk business. Boisie tells Albie to come back to London. On the dancefloor, Albie gives Joan a word of warning to look after Boisie and that he’s worked with her ex, Gary, before who says she’s a piece of work. He flirts with her and she gets angry and leaves.
On the plane home, they’re delayed and Joan gets irate that she’ll miss Kelly. They sit separately and she rushes back to see Kelly. Fortunately, Nancy is with her and she manages to spend some time with her. Afterwards, she meets with social services who say that Kelly is doing really well with the Ashburys. The lady then starts to question Joan saying they know she doesn’t have a job, she’s not living with her sister, and that she stole a car. They say Kelly is better away from her and that they’ve obtained a court order formally placing her in social services care, until Joan can prove over time that she’s stable and reliable.
Upset, Joan goes to the pub and looks in the paper for another job. Boisie comes in to return her suitcase. He asks about Kelly and she explains. He offers once again for her to come home with him, even though they fell out, and she accepts. As they walk home, Joan says she needs proper money and suggests they do some more jobs, despite saying Spain was the only one she’d do.
All episodes of Joan are available to stream on ITVX now.Â
