Girl Joe the Lion embraces (5)
I believe the answer is:
ethel
'girl' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'joe the lion embraces' is the wordplay.
'embraces' indicates a hidden word (I've seen 'embracing' mean this (the solution is embraced by words in the clue)).
'ETHEL' can be found hidden inside 'joe the lion'.
(Other definitions for ethel that I've seen before include "- Barrymore, actress" , "girl" , "Lethe (anag) -- Barrymore or Merman" , "- Merman, US musical comedy star" , "Dame - Smyth, Eng. composer, suffragette" .)