James Bond

SHE became the youngest ever Bond girl at 21 – and Gemma Arterton thinks one reason she landed the role as MI6 agent Strawberry Fields is because she teased 5ft 10in Daniel Craig about his height at the audition.

Now 40, the actress recalls how she had been relaxed about applying for the part in Quantum Of Solace because she did not realise quite how huge the 007 films were — and just tried out for “fun”.

Talking about Daniel, 58, who played Bond for 15 years, she says: “He’s got his sense of humour, so that was good.

“I used to poke him a bit, like, I think that’s why I got the job.

“I did a screen test with him and I came on set and said, ‘Hi’, and he said, ‘Hi’. I said, ‘You’re not as tall as I thought you would be in real life’.

“He said, ‘That’s really nice of you to say so’. I was joking with him. I didn’t think I’d get it.”

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After she landed the part, Gemma — who is 5ft 7in — says Daniel had to use height-boosting shoes for a few scenes when she was ­wearing stilettos.

Gemma, whose parents split when she was young, grew up on a Kent council estate with her mum Sally-Anne, a cleaner, and younger sister Hannah.

She said at the 2024 Marrakech International Film Festival: “I knew nothing about the Bond legacy because I grew up in an all-female household where we didn’t really watch movies.

“I literally didn’t know how big James Bond was, which sounds ridiculous because everyone else does. The ­surprise of how big it was — I couldn’t believe it.

“I auditioned for it because my agent told me to, not expecting to get it, and got it and just did it because it was fun.

“But I had an amazing time making it and it was huge. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.

“We went on all these amazing locations. I had just left drama school, it was one of my first jobs, and it was the first time I was on a big film set.”

Now, Gemma is about to appear in another spy thriller — but this time she will take on the lead role in new ITV crime drama Secret Service, which starts tomorrow night.

She plays Kate Henderson, who balances being a suburban married mother of two teenagers with secretly being a senior MI6 operative and heading the Russian desk at the intelligence service.

It is based on the book of the same name by ITV newsreader Tom Bradby.

Gemma says: “She trains spies and finds out some very important information, which is that there is a Russian spy within the British government.

“Her mission is to find out, by hook or by crook, who that is. It’s really gripping. It’s edge-of-your-seat stuff.”

For this role, Gemma did plenty of research and, with writer Tom’s help, she even met a real-life spy to perfect the part.

She told ITV’s This Morning: “I was lucky enough to meet someone who could advise me on how they negotiate their lives and live day to day — you know, their family and their kids.

“There’s a scene where I tell my kids what I do and they don’t believe me, they laugh it off. And that came from this ­previous spy and what happened when he told his daughter and she thought, ‘You’re joking’.

“But it was invaluable to me because it’s not just the high-stakes lives they live, it’s about the attributes they have to be a spy, which are very specific — very risk averse, good at problem solving.”

Gemma has been acting since she was a teenager and was 16 when she first considered it as a career.

She says: “I come from a humble family. My father was a metal worker, my mother is a cleaner, and not involved in the arts in any way.

“I always liked performing and showing off. I didn’t know that acting was a profession really until I was about 16 and I was doing a lot of amateur dramatics as a hobby.

“There was a lady there who said, ‘You should go to college to study acting’.

“I thought, ‘OK let’s see what happens’. Then I saw Breaking Away and Dancing In The Dark and I was inspired.

“That’s when I realised I would like to give it a go.”

She first broke through with comedy film St Trinian’s in 2007, followed by Quantum Of Solace a year later.

Since then, she has made more than 30 films, including 2018’s Vita & Virginia, in which she played author Vita Sackville-West, who had a romantic ­relationship with fellow writer Virginia Woolf.

Talking about why she left Hollywood films behind to make more independent movies, Gemma says: “I think at the time it was very different in the industry to how it is now for women.

“In those films — not the Bond film. I had a really good time making that film, but the other ones — I didn’t feel very empowered.

“I didn’t feel like I had a voice and I didn’t feel comfortable. I always felt good doing independent films.

“My taste is that as well. I like independent film, it’s my passion. Usually, the stories are better and the characters are stronger and I felt like I had a voice on set.”

Films such as Byzantium, The Voices, Their Finest and The Disappearance Of Alice Creed followed, alongside performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and starring in stage productions such as Nell Gwynn, which won her an Olivier Award in 2016.

On the Dish podcast, Gemma told how, when she starred in The Little Dog Laughed at London’s Garrick Theatre in 2010 with Tamsin Greig, Rupert Friend and Harry Lloyd, they had a novel way to try to dispel their nerves.
Laughing, she said: “We used to play this game called bum slap.

“We’d be on stage before the audience came in, obviously, and you have to run around and smack each other’s bum.

“Basically, you have to smack as many bums as you can. And it was the best warm-up ever because you were all loosey goosey.

“I think I’d rather do bum slap than any of the old acting rituals.”

Gemma loves working in Britain because she gets to perform different accents.

She said: “I do enjoy a Liverpool, that melting pot of accents that is Lancashire, Manchester and Blackburn, it’s insane.”

Gemma herself had a Cockney accent before gaining her scholarship to the Royal Academy Of Dramatic Art, where it “softened up a bit”.
London is now her home, but her mum still lives in Gravesend — and now does watch films, thanks to her famous daughter.

Gemma says: “She’s grand, she’s living the life. She’s down in Kent where I grew up, the same home — I paid off the mortgage.

“I think she does eventually watch my shows. She takes her time and needs to watch them with the subtitles on, maybe to absorb them.

“She’s very honest. She’ll say, ‘Why did you do that? You sold out there’.”

Gemma has her own family now, too — son Theo, three, and a baby boy whose name she has not revealed — with her husband, Peaky Blinders actor Rory Keenan, who she married in 2019.

They do not live a showbiz life, but he is supportive of her work.

Gemma says: “My family life is my world now, whereas before it was work.

“It’s made me hyper-focused on what I do want to do.

“Before, it was like, ‘I will do that with that director or that actor I like’, even though it wasn’t the best thing for me.

“But now it’s made me really specific about what I want to do, because if I’m going to be away from them, which I inevitably will, it’s hard.

“But if I’m in it and enjoy the work, then it’s OK.”

Timeline of James Bond actors

Over the years there have been seven actors who have played 007.

The first ever James Bond film was in 1962, and this is who has played the lead role over the years:

• Sean Connery – The late star was the first ever actor to play Bond, and reprised the role for seven movies.
• George Lazenby – The star only played Bond once, but was the youngest actor to ever play the spy.
• Roger Moore – The late movie star spent 12 years making seven films in the famous franchise.
• Timothy Dalton – The smooth actor took over from Roger Moore and appeared in The Living Daylights and Licence to Kill.
• Pierce Brosnan – The handsome star played Bond for four movies from 1995 to 2002.
• Daniel Craig – The British star was the first blonde James Bond and the sixth actor to win the role in 2005.

Death in Paradise star Ralf Little discusses his new stage role in The Spy Who Came In From The Cold UK tour on BBC Breakfast

Death In Paradise star Ralf Little has opened up about his “disappointing new role”.

The 46-year-old, who shot to fame on BBC sitcom, The Royle Family, appeared on Thursday’s edition of BBC Breakfast to discuss his new stage production, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.

The theatrical adaptation of the John le Carré novel has embarked on a major UK tour following a sold-out, critically acclaimed West End run. It plunges audiences into the murky world of Cold War espionage, where betrayal is rife and ethical boundaries are perpetually blurred.

Playing lead character Alec Leamas, a British intelligence officer, Ralf spoke to BBC Breakfast hosts Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt about how this part contrasts with other spy-themed dramas. Drawing comparisons between The Spy Who Came In From The Cold and Ian Fleming’s James Bond, he said: “It’s not like that at all,” reports the Express.

“I don’t get any gadgets, I don’t get to drive an Aston Martin and I was very disappointed because that was really the only reason I wanted to do it,” he joked.

Picking up on his disappointment, Naga questioned why he chose to take on the role. Ralf added: “I know! There’s no glamour at all!”

Despite his misgivings, Ralf added: “I don’t want to have to be given refunds, but I think people will really enjoy it.”

Regarded as a global bestseller for over six decades and featured amongst TIME Magazine’s 100 greatest novels of all time, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold showcases le Carré at his most razor-sharp – delving into betrayal not merely between nations, but within the human soul.

In March 2024, TV fans were left heartbroken following Ralf’s exit from the much-loved detective drama Death in Paradise.

Having portrayed Detective Inspector Neville Parker since 2020, Ralf brought a unique blend of endearing awkwardness and emotional complexity to the part, swiftly establishing himself as a firm favourite amongst viewers.

His departure allowed the character’s journey to reach a natural and fulfilling conclusion, while simultaneously paving the way for new faces and fresh dynamics on the island of Saint Marie.

Although audiences were saddened to see him leave, his contribution made an enduring mark on the programme’s legacy.

Opening up about his exit, Ralf revealed his role felt “completed” and had a “beautiful and poignant” ending.

BBC Breakfast airs Monday-Sunday from 6am on BBC One

SCREEN star Sydney Sweeney is backed for the next 007 film — not as a Bond girl, but a girl Bond.

Hollywood director Paul Feig believes she would be perfect as the British spy.

Asked about a glamour role for her in the next movie, he insisted: “I’d rather Sydney be the next Bond.

“There have been some cool Bond girls, but come on, let her be the super-spy, she’s great.”

Paul, who was behind the camera for Sydney’s latest hit The Housemaid, added: “She’s one of the hardest-working people I know, so professional, so smart, so savvy. I think she’d be a good spy.”

American Sydney, 28 — who posted a selfie in an ivory dress on Instagram at the weekend — last year told of her interest in Bond after the franchise was bought by Amazon MGM.

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She said: “I’ve always been a huge fan and I’m excited and curious to see what they do with it.”

When asked if she fancied playing a Bond girl, Sydney said: “Depends on the script.

“I think I’d have more fun as James Bond.”

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, ­Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi and Jack O’Connell have all been linked to the Bond role.

Daniel Craig quit after 2021’s No Time to Die.

Dune’s Denis Villeneuve will direct the next 007 film, written by Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight.

Riz Ahmed has created and stars in a marvelous new series, “Bait,” premiering Wednesday on Prime Video. There are no worms in it, though viral video plays a part, and fame — the pursuit of which is a subject — is a lure.

But what’s in a name? A comedy by any other name would be as funny — if it was funny, and this one very much is, in a way that’s crazy and serious and human, built around a character in crisis who refuses to believe his life is out of control and is so invested in putting up a front that he’s begun to believe his own lies. Almost. It’s a series in which hallucinations, dreams, magical realism and memories, which punctuate and interfere with the “normal” business of the story, all amount the same thing, and in which the style of the filming shifts with the action.

Ahmad plays Shah Latif, a British Pakistani actor, who, owing to the exertions of his faithful, often frustrated agent, Felicia (Weruche Opia), is improbably auditioning to be the next James Bond. But he repeatedly forgets his line when his scene partner, a girl with a gun, asks, “Tell me, when it’s just you all alone, how do you live with yourself? Do you even know who you are?” establishing a theme. (The line he can’t recall: “I don’t live with myself, I live with whoever you need me to be.” Spies and actors!)

Leaving the audition, he contrives to be photographed by one of the paparazzi lurking outside, sniffing for a Bond scoop; his picture is published, which creates a stir and some racist blowback, culminating in a package thrown through the front window of his parents’ home. (It is not a window that opens.) What’s inside the package I’ll leave for you to discover, but it will play a part through the rest of the show.

The recurring question of who will be the next James Bond generates a lot of pop cultural heat in our world; just type “next James Bond” into your search engine of choice. At one point, you may recall, Idris Elba was regularly bruited as a potential 007, which occasioned enough anti-Black reaction that he officially took himself out of the unofficial running. It may have been on Ahmed’s mind here — Shah claims high purpose for his Bondean aspirations, that he wants “to show them that this too is what British looks like.”

On the one hand, Shah has had enough of a career to have been made into a “limited edition collectible action figure,” starred in a well-regarded but underseen small film, played “the translator in ‘Homeland’ series seven” and earned a rising star award from some French festival; on the other, he is, professionally speaking, no Idris Elba — not a nobody, but not too many rungs above it. (He’s not Dev Patel, either, with whom he’s repeatedly confused.)

At the top of the second episode, Shah is seemingly being interviewed on a podcast, “Sir Chatwick Stewart, with me, Sir Patrick Stewart” — played by the man himself, whom we hear but never see — about his ambitions, though it’s soon clear that Stewart is a mental projection, an inner critic and inquisitor. He’ll stick around through the series, offering barbed commentary and something like support: “If I humiliate you, it’s to save you from the bigger humiliation of remaining as you are.”

As a protagonist continually getting in his own way, Shah is a classic sort of comic character. He creates opportunities only to squander them; finds himself voiceless after forcing himself onstage at a black-tie gala or in an underground club (he was once a politically provocative MC). After a newsworthy mishap, his agent advises him to lie low, which is impossible for him to do; there is no itch he won’t scratch, and no good advice he’ll actually follow. Apart from a rival actor (Himesh Patel) he’s a protagonist without antagonists, excepting himself. He’s insufficiently grateful to the people he owes, and insufficiently apologetic to those he’s wronged.

Shah’s self-involvement will be challenged by ex-girlfriend Yasmin (Ritu Arya), encountered first by accident, then sought out — a writer, she has published an op-ed headlined, “No, Shah Latif, We Don’t Need a Brown Bond” — in which she accuses him of “exchanging his political art for vanilla distraction.” His family, whom he neglects to visit for months, includes warm-hearted cousin Zulfi (Guz Khan), who has started a Muslim ride share company; a no-nonsense sister (Aasiya Shah) — the name of her character is rendered as “Q” on IMDb and elsewhere, but in the series itself she’s called Ainy — doting mother Tahira (Sheeba Chaddha); and his skeptical father, Parvez (Sajid Hasan), who has not been keeping his doctor appointments and asks Shah, “What do you even do? I watch TV all day — you’re never on it.”

Appropriate to a character who lives for being onscreen, “Bait” plays with the language of film — gritty procedural, a burst of Bollywood, romantic comedy — though not necessarily to the usual ends. Frame-filling titles identify the London neighborhoods where the action takes place — Wembley, Kentish Town, Brick Lane, Ladbroke Grove — as Paris, Moscow and Mexico City might appear in an international thriller. The series is at once satirical and celebratory; “Bait” feels abundant, both in its presentation of a culture, which has the ring of documentary truth, and as a beautifully realized work of art.

Bond can wait.

AN unexpected Brit name has been thrown into the ring to play the next James Bond.

Bookmaker Coral has announced the surprising news about who is currently in the lead to scoop the iconic role.

It has been revealed that Jack O’Connell’s name is flying high after seeing support rise over the last 48 hours.

The SAS: Rogue Heroes star is a big contender to jump into James Bond‘s boots with odds to 8-1 (from 33-1).

“Jack O’Connell’s next James Bond odds have collapsed over the last couple of days, with the British actor now just single figures in our betting for the iconic role,” said Coral’s John Hill.

The new movie will be written by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Steven Knight – who was behind iconic TV show Peaky Blinders.

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Steven also wrote SAS: Rogue Heroes and worked with Jack on the feature.

The 28 Years Later actor has come a long way since his days in the Skins cast.

O’Connell has played a variety of roles since he starred in the TV teen drama as James Cook from 2009 to 2010 – and for the show’s final season in 2013.

Ever since Daniel Craig said goodbye to the role in 2021 release No Time To Die, the role of super spy 007 has been up for grabs, with speculation rife over who should take over. 

Coral stated the odds: 4-5 Callum Turner, 3-1 Aaron Taylor-Johnson, 3-1 Theo James, 6-1 Henry Cavill, 8-1 Jack O’Connell, 10-1 Anthony Boyle, 12-1 Harris Dickinson, 16-1 Jack Lowden, 16-1 James Norton.

Actors thought to be in the running to play Bond include Spider-Man star Tom Holland, 28, Bridget Jones hunk Leo Woodall, 28, SAS Rogue Heroes leading man Connor Swindells, 28, plus Hero Fiennes Tiffin, 27, and Kit Connor, 21. 

Irishman Paul Mescal, 29, is also said to be in the frame along with Wuthering Heights heart-throb Jacob Elordi, 27.

Among the other names rumoured to be in the frame included Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Callum Turner and Henry Cavill.

The Sun recently revealed the latest 007 adventure — spearheaded by new owners Amazon Prime Video — will start filming before the end of the year.

Work has already begun on assembling the crew with a view to starting filming late autumn into early winter.

Amazon has yet to confirm anything about the new Bond movie and there’s no hint as to what it will be called.

But if the cameras start to roll this year it means it could wrap in 2027 and be on our screens by 2028.

The franchise was snapped up by the streaming giants after 2021’s No Time To Die featured the death of the super-spy, played by Daniel Craig.