Author Profile: David Leigh

A look at the Norwegian filming locations used in No Time to Die. The pre-title sequence of No Time to Die is the longest of the entire series. At nearly 24 minutes in length it covers two distinct time periods and is in two countries with the contrast between the snowscapes of 1990s Norway swapped […]

I know 2022 is still young but I’m fairly certain you’ve had it drummed into by now that this year marks the 60th anniversary of the James Bond film series from Eon Productions/MGM. And, with the franchise owners increasing appetite to capitalise on the films through official merchandise via the 007 Store you might expect […]

It’s quite incredible to think that in the year that the James Bond movies celebrate their 60th anniversary this website has been online for 20 years. The site was first launched on a subdomain sometime in January 2002 although the exact date is lost in the sands of time. For the first few years it was […]

Happy New Year to you, loyal reader! We can only hope that in 2022 things start to return to some kind of pre-pandemic normality. In case you are looking out for the newsletter, this month it will be going out a week late on 11th January. If you’re not currently subscribed you can join here. […]

2021 was a huge year for Bond fans with the eventual release of No Time To Die, but what were the other highlights of the past 12 months? We turn to our friends from around the world to look back on 2021 and also pick out what they are most looking forward to in 2022.

The assault on Piz Gloria is a tough operation and a long night for Bond, who gets rather battered and bruised. After pursuing Blofeld on the bobsleigh run he makes his way to Zurich where he arrives on the doorstep of the Head of Station Z at two in the morning. This is the fifth […]

Sometimes people ask me what book they should start with in the Bond series. My answer? It depends. Ideally I’d say get hold of a copy of Casino Royale and work your way through the rest in chronological order. But that’s not how I read the books the first time. I did start at the […]

The latest episode of James Bond & Friends is now available on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere. Join us as we watch 1954’s live television production of Casino Royale together as a group experience. James Bond is American, Leiter is British, Vesper and Mathis are combined into one character, and the story of Casino Royale is […]

The Sound of 007 announced in brief statement on official 007 website. Coinciding with the 60th anniversary of Eon Productions’ James Bond series next October, Apple TV+ has announced a documentary looking at the music from the films. The Sound of 007 will cover all aspects of the music from the films, everything from the […]

Collected from the airport by Marius, one of Draco’s men, they talk briefly about bouillabaisse, a Marseille culinary speciality, on the drive to meet Bond’s future father in law. “There is no more true bouillabaisse, because […] you must have the rascasse, the tender flesh of the scorpion fish”, Marius tells him. This is the […]

The title and synopsis of Horowitz’s forthcoming James Bond novel were released by Vintage this morning. Jonathan Cape, Vintage, and Ian Fleming Publications are delighted to reveal the title and front cover of award-winning novelist and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz’s third official James Bond novel. Signed copies are available to pre-order from today from high street […]

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven’t seen No Time to Die yet then read no further. I’m going to discuss a major spoiler. The ending of No Time to Die has me in a bit of a quandary. On one hand I believe that artists should do the unexpected but. I do, I do, I do! […]

Only during his escape did he remember it was Christmas Eve and so his flight from Zurich is on Christmas Day. He’s met at the airport by a secret service car and glad to see Mary Goodnight along with the driver. After teasing her about working on Christmas Day she tells him he is to go […]

When I was a kid one of the things that struck me about the James Bond books was how authoritative Ian Fleming was as an author. The books are full of incidental details that don’t much matter to telling the story but convey a sense of Fleming really knowing what he was talking about. Probably […]

The latest episode of James Bond & Friends is now available on Apple Podcasts and elsewhere. Join us as we watch 1967’s spoof Casino Royale together as a group experience. James Bond is enjoying a quiet retirement when he’s pulled back in to the world of international espionage by M. When his 007 code number […]

After returning from northern France Bond the Secret Service finally gets the lead on Blofeld they’ve been looking for. After meeting Griffon Or at the College of Arms Bond swots up on the heraldry. He’s to go undercover as Sir Hilary Bray to meet Blofeld in person at his supposed Alpine allergy clinic. This is […]

One thing that underlines how important James Bond is to modern culture is the frequency at which he is mentioned in books. It’s surprisingly often. My reading is mainly focused on espionage novels and what probably used to be called adventure novels but, taking a leaf out of action cinema, are now action heavy. Andy […]

After James Bond checks into Hotel Splendide in Royal- les-Eaux he orders a bottle of the Taittinger Blanc de Blancs from room service. When it arrives in a frosted silver bucket he downs a quarter of it before showering and, after dressing, sits by the window and looks out at the promenade sipping champagne and […]

I’d like to thank the following people for contributing to this website via Patreon. You can add your name to this list by selecting the Secret Agent tier on our Patreon page. Thank you to the following contributors Javi Trujillo Michael Beltranena Peter Allan Lawrence bbwoman2d James Harrison Edward Biddulph Ian Hughes Dave Machin Elle […]

While James Bond may be a secret agent, it would be stretching things to consider him a spy.