A hit ITV crime thriller has been axed after just one season despite having brought in glowing reviews and four million viewers.
Breakthrough drama Joan has been canned, much to the dismay of avid fans, reportedly because its starring actress Sophie Turner was too busy.
It has been claimed that ITV’s drama team spent months trying to find a gap in star Sophie Turner‘s busy schedule to film the second series.
However, after exhausting all avenues, the production crew had to admit defeat and axe the popular thriller.
An ITV spokesperson told The Sun: ‘ITV and Snowed-In Productions would love to produce another series of Joan.
‘However, as a consequence of cast availability, and following co-production discussions, a second series isn’t possible.’
The hit ITV crime thriller Joan has been axed after just one season – despite having brought in glowing reviews and four million viewers
ITV’s drama team has reportedly spent months trying to find a gap in star Sophie Turner ‘s busy schedule to film a second series of Joan
MailOnline has contacted ITV and Sophie’s representatives for comment.
The series follows the life of Joan Hannington – a real-life jewel thief who pocketed more than £3million of gems in London in the 1980s.
In her ever-present fur coats and shimmering blue eyeshadow, the glamorous fraudster earned herself the moniker The Godmother among the city’s criminal network.
The first season aired last autumn and comprised only six episodes, but that was enough to get viewers hooked.
The show left several loose ends to be tied, with the Joan determined to get revenge on her criminal counterpart Albie, who had betrayed her.
Fiery Joan was also left with plans of a new and lucrative business empire after having spent a four-year stint in prison for armed robbery.
Last year, director Richard Laxton said: ‘There is definitely potential for the story to go on,’ which only added to fans’ despair.
Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow both attempted to resurrect Joan’s thrilling story and bring it to screens in the early 2000s, but they weren’t successful.
Sophie is currently occupied with several time-consuming projects and is set to play video game heroine Lara Croft in an upcoming Tomb Raider TV series.
Joan’s very first episode was branded ‘incredible’ by viewers when it first aired last year
The real Joan Hannington and her son Benny Banks attend the launch of new ITV series Joan, at Jack Solomons Club in London
She is also appearing in Amazon’s Steal and Paramount’s Trust, and will feature in horror film The Dreadful alongside her Game Of Thrones co-star Kit Harrington.
Sophie also has two daughters from her marriage to American singer Joe Jonas, and is now in a relationship with aristocrat Peregrine Pearson.
Joan’s very first episode was branded ‘incredible’ by viewers when it first aired last year.
During one scene, Sophie’s character meets her future husband Boisie Hannington (Frank Dillane) in a pub, with the bartender played by the couple’s actual son Benny Banks.
Speaking ahead of the episode, Sophie said: ‘It’s amazing because in the scene that we meet first in the pub, the bartender was played by Joan’s son Benny’.
‘It was so cool to have that because it’s the moment his parents meet and he got to be there and we got to hang out with him’.
Viewers were full of praise for Sophie’s performance as she played the young mum, who ventures into the criminal underworld in a bid to make a better life for her young daughter.
In a press conference about the show, Sophie explained she had no problem turning on the waterworks, saying: ‘I’m a Pisces, I’m emotional.’
During one scene Sophie’s character meets her future husband Boisie Hannington (Frank Dillane) in a pub, with the bartender played by the couple’s actual son Benny Banks (pictured)
‘She is so funny but she has gone through so much trauma and is so ambitious,’ Sophie added of her character.
‘There really is so much to her – mother, lover, liar, thief. It’s just remarkable that it’s all a true story.’
The drama follows Joan as she escapes her violent husband but has to place her daughter into care as she gets back on her feet.
With no money and nowhere to live, she manages to secure a job in a jeweller’s, from where she steals her first diamonds.
