Sophie Turner steals the show in new con-woman drama Joan.

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Joan is Neon’s new six-part British crime drama inspired by the real-life story of Joan Hannington, the woman who became the UK’s most notorious jewel thief. Set in 1980s London, it’s based on Hannington’s memoir, I Am What I Am, and was adapted for television by Anna Symon (Mrs Wilson, The Essex Serpent).  Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) stars as the titular Joan, a woman whose life changes drastically when she turns to the world of organised crime.

We first meet Joan in a fancy hotel, where she’s getting dressed in a disguise of some kind. Her back is covered in scars (a clue to her tough childhood, perhaps?) and she answers the phone in an American accent, but then swears in a London dialect. Nothing is as it seems, even before we flash back to a few months earlier. Here, Joan is living on the Kent coast with her young daughter Kelly and dodgy husband Gary, who treats Joan to fur coats and fancy cars but never explains where he gets these expensive gifts from.

When some Bad Men break into Joan and Gary’s flat in the middle of the night (they lead a far more dramatic life than the names “Joan” and “Gary” might suggest), Joan realises Kelly’s life is in danger. In a desperate attempt to protect her child, she flees and puts Kelly into emergency foster care, then escapes to her sister Nancy’s hair-salon in London.

All Joan wants is a safe home for Kelly to come back to, but she is also quite big on self-sabotage. When things don’t work out with her sister (“why can’t you just be normal?” Nancy asks), Joan blags her way into a job in a Mayfair jewellery store. Here, she makes a choice that changes everything.

With one quick swallow of some expensive diamonds and a chance meeting with a shifty antiques dealer, Joan’s future takes an unexpected turn into the world of organised crime.

Sophie Turner is fantastic as Joan, a rare female anti-hero whose cleverness doesn’t stop her making questionable decisions. Turner gives a convincing portrayal as the multifaceted Joan, who is equal parts betrayed wife, desperate mother, charming thief and tough negotiator. Because we understand why she makes these bad decisions (she loves her daughter! She just wants what everyone else has!), you can’t help but back her. It’s a treat to see a female character be portrayed with this complexity and dynamism.

Joan is both vulnerable and cunning, and she knows an opportunity when she sees one. She’ll do whatever it takes to get the better of shitty situations and even worse men, and by showing us the real Joan behind the headlines, the show asks some big questions. Is crime OK if you’re only stealing from the rich? What if your motivations for breaking the law are honourable? And how far would you go to live a life of safety and security?

Best of all, Joan goes full noise on the 1980s setting. Everything drips with 80s nostalgia, from the divine apricot and gold sets, the glorious fashion, and a soundtrack full of 80s classics. Leaning into all that yuppie excess gives the show a sense of fun, particularly with all of Joan’s different criminal disguises. The attention to detail is fabulously over the top, but never feels inauthentic or distracting.

If you’re looking for an edgy, intense crime thriller, adjust your expectations a little – this is less Lupin, more pared-back British drama. While it’s a little uneven at times, Joan is a fun, colourful story of a woman’s dramatic rags-to-riches transformation, and a highly entertaining series that made me want to get a fake fur coat and asymmetrical haircut as soon as possible.

Joan is available on Neon.