Sophie Turner says being a mother helped scenes in new ITV drama

Sophie Turner has spoken about how being a mother helped during filming of emotional scenes in her upcoming ITV drama Joan.

The Game of Thrones star is set to play the diamond thief Joan Hannington in the new six-part series, which premieres later this month.

The catalyst for Joan turning to a life of crime in the show comes when her daughter Kelly, played by Mia Millichamp-Long, is put into foster care until Joan can find her feet financially.

The storyline makes for emotional scenes in social services, as Joan first puts her daughter into care and then struggles to take her back from the system.

Related: Best streaming services UK 2024

Turner spoke about preparing for the emotionally raw scenes during a Q+A with the cast and creatives to promote the new show.

She told Digital Spy and other press: “I’m a Pisces. Very emotional. But I do listen to music and things like that.

“I’m a mother, anything to do with children, and it just kind of flows out of me.”

Turner has two daughters, Delphine and Willa, who she co-parents with her ex-husband Joe Jonas.

She went on to talk about how that relationship between Joan and her daughter Kelly is the “crux of everything” in the drama.

“While we would be filming scenes that weren’t involving Kelly, (director Richard Laxton) would always come up to me almost every scene and go, and where’s Kelly?” Turner said.

“So it was always a constant, constant, constant reminder of, this is why she’s doing it. Because I think sometimes when you’re doing a show like this, and it’s heist-y, and there’s diamonds and glamor, you get swept away by it all.

“You have to remember that this is to provide a solid and stable life for her daughter, and so she can get her back. It’s really a heartbreaking story, and so we had to constantly be reminding ourselves of that to keep it grounded and to “don’t get too excited.”

Joan airs its first episode on ITV1 on September 29, with all six episodes becoming available on ITVX after episode one airs. The drama will be aired on The CW in the US.