Throughout ITV’s Joan, Joan Hannington’s love for her daughter and determination to give her a better life drove her forwards and some viewers might be wondering what happened to her daughter in the show and in real-life.
Whilst the shocking scenes of Joan Hannington swallowing jewels and rising to become an accomplished thief have undeniably caught viewers’ attention, the beating heart of ITV’s Joan surely has to be the emotional journey Joan goes on as a mother. From the outset we know how much Joan loves her little girl Kelly and how her determination to earn the money to give her a safe and wonderful new life drives her. The six-part series has sparked curiosity about the Joan true story and about if Joan went to prison, but the question about what happened to her daughter is something that is likely on many people’s minds too.
*Warning: Spoilers ahead*
What happened to Joan Hannington's daughter?
ITV’s Joan focused quite a bit on Joan and Kelly’s storyline and the ending gave viewers a definitive answer about what happens to their fictionalised versions of the mother and daughter. Throughout the six episodes Joan’s motivation is to secure custody of Kelly again and give her a better life. The real Joan Hannington has previously described her desire to regain custody of her daughter (renamed Kelly in the show, though her real name is Debbie) and be able to provide for her as the motivation that led her down the path of jewel theft.
"I was determined to get Debbie back but I needed money and a place to live," she explained, as per The Sun. "One day, I was sent to the safe at the back of the shop, where the CCTV cameras didn’t operate, to collect some loose diamonds. I opened the safe and trays of brilliant white stones glittered back at me. My heart galloping, I realised the chance to make some instant money and regain custody of Debbie was staring me right straight in the face."
Joan’s finale ended up taking this to another level and focused upon a heist which doesn’t seem to have happened in real-life. Ahead of the planned heist at the Bernard Jones jewellery store, Joan convinced criminal acquaintance Albie to put Kelly on her fake passport as she was planning on getting her daughter out of the country with her and Boisie Hannington. This caused some friction between husband and wife as Boisie had originally agreed with Joan that they’d go to Spain and he’d come back for Kelly later.
When he found out what Joan was planning they argued as Boisie told her that it’s not about what she wants, but what’s "best" for Kelly. But Joan was determined that Kelly needed to come with them now. An emotional Joan confessed her fears that Kelly would forget her otherwise and explained how it felt like a "blade" to her heart that her daughter was already "happy" with her "other Mummy" Mama Sue.
Even after the heist went catastrophically wrong and ended in tragedy for Boisie, a grief-stricken Joan chose to stick to her original plan of getting Kelly back and heading to Spain with her. She had previously arranged with Kelly’s school to visit, pretending to be a New York Herald journalist named Simone Highsmith.
When she arrived she told Kelly to meet her by the gates and later drove her away to a countryside caravan. Once there, Joan broke down in tears and even Kelly couldn’t comfort her. She sent her daughter inside to take off the lipstick she’d put on and when the little girl came across a gun in Joan’s suitcase it sparked a massive moment of reflection.
Horrified at what might’ve happened, Joan resolved to take Kelly back to Mama Sue as she needed to keep her daughter "safe". Whilst she might have lost Boisie, his remarks about focusing on what’s best for Kelly have clearly had a big impact on her. The scene in which Joan and her daughter said goodbye is one of the most poignant moments in episode 6 of ITV’s Joan.
Tears streaming down her face, Joan watched Kelly walk away towards Mama Sue’s house and later returned to her flat where she accepted her arrest. She explained that all she’d wanted was her own family and now without her husband Boisie and daughter Kelly there was "no point". The final scenes of the series show Joan, released from prison four years later, and she doesn’t mention Kelly by name when she talks to Albie about her plans for the future.
This seems to suggest that Joan has no plans to disrupt Kelly’s life with her foster family and continues to believe that living with them might be the safest and best thing for her beloved daughter right now. Instead, Joan resolved to turn her back on crime and build an "empire" of her own as she took a new path in life.
What happened to Joan Hannington’s daughter in real life?
There’s a distinction to be made between Joan's real-life daughter and her daughter in the show. In the ITV show Joan Hannington’s daughter is named Kelly, though her real name is Debbie. Debbie is the daughter of Joan and her first husband, convicted criminal Ray Parvey, who Joan reportedly married when she was 17 years old. Joan’s daughter was placed into foster care and one of the two times Joan has ever been arrested was for stealing a car to go and visit her in care - something that was depicted in the ITV show. It’s not known where Debbie is now and her current relationship with Joan Hannington isn’t known.
All episodes of Joan are available to watch now on ITVX.
