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 5.
In the penultimate episode, it begins at Boisie's warehouse. After the fallout with the Irish, it appears they're back for revenge burning down his entire warehouse and all his antiques. The next morning, Boisie and Albie, standing in front of the burnt remains, discuss warning Joan who may be in danger in prison.
Boisie goes to visit Joan and tells her what's happened. He suggests she lays low until her bail hearing in a couple of days. Back in the cells, she notices a woman with an Irish flag on her arm watching her. The bad news keeps coming as Joan then meets with her lawyer who says she's looking at ten years, unless she makes a deal.
Feeling bold, Joan approaches the Irish woman. They have a tense conversation before Joan heads back to her cell. A guard follows her in and locks the door, before loud crashes are heard.
As Joan lies in bed covered in bruises, she refuses the help of her cellmate and waits for her hearing. Fortunately, she gets out on bail, but she's not happy to see Boisie. They begin to argue and Joan insists that she needs to run away and that she'll do a bigger job. She shows Boisie her bruises and he agrees to help her, once she comes up with a plan.
Joan heads back to Bernard Jones, where she first swallowed the diamonds. He agrees to take her back into work and Joan, excitedly, heads to the antiques store to tell Boisie of her new plan - quantity, over quality. She proposes stealing Bernard's entire jewellery store.
At the pub, Boisie says they need to bring Albie into the heist. Joan talks about their plans to move to Spain and wants Kelly to come too. Boisie says it's too risky and not fair on Kelly and that if she wants that, she's on her own. Joan storms out. Back at the flat, Boisie tells Joan they should go alone and that he'll come back for Kelly himself when they're settled, risking getting caught for her. She agrees.
At Bernard Jones, Bernard tells Joan he's upped security with more cameras and a panic button. Joan takes her intel to Boisie and Albie and they agree to rob the place when she does a stock-take the following week, but they'll need to be quiet as it's the middle of the day.
She says she'll cut the wires and lead Bernard into the safe room. They hatch a plan to escape by boat afterwards, which Albie will set up for them. Albie says they need another person to watch Bernard as he'll be driving. He suggests Paul Mills. Before they can discuss more, Val comes home and interrupts.
Joan comes to meet Paul at a pub, but she's late. He reveals he's robbed multiple banks and post officers and never been caught, but that this job is riskier. He wants to take guns, which Joan doesn't feel comfortable with, but eventually agrees. Boisie tells Joan off for not being on time as they need Paul to trust her, but she explains she was buying a gift for Kelly's birthday.
Nancy takes Joan to see Kelly. On the way, Nancy tells her their dad is really poorly and she wants her to go and visit him. She's hesitant given their past. At the birthday picnic, social services and the Ashburys are there. Kelly opens her jewellery box and seems unimpressed. Mrs Ashbury gives her a box of crafts and she loves it, which upsets Joan.
At home that night, Boisie tells Joan that Paul is in. Distracted about her dad, she decides to go and visit him. In the hospital though, he still manages to belittle her. She replies, angrily, that parents shouldn't beat their children until they bleed and storms out.
Joan meets secretly with Albie and asks him to add Kelly to her passport. He insists that she has to tell Boisie before the heist as it could jeopardise the whole job. She promises.
In the final scene, Joan stands outside the gates of Kelly's school watching her. The phone rings and in her American accent, she says that she's Simone Highsmith from the New York Herald and she wants to visit the school for an article she's writing. The plan begins to take Kelly.
All episodes of Joan are available to stream on ITV now.
