Next James Bond: Former Bond girl admits ‘I’m worried’ about 007 role after major change

Hanley's concerns follow Dame Helen Mirren's view on who the next James Bond should be played by, declaring the fictional spy character is "a bloke".

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When asked if the new James Bond should be played by a woman, Ms Mirren stated: "There's room for a great movie about a great female agent, but James Bond is James Bond."

Delivering her verdict on the debate, Ms Hanley told GB News: "I think James Bond has to be a male because he came from the imagination of Ian Fleming.

"If you want a female 007, don't ride on his coattails and take the fame that has come from his character, James Bond. Write your own."

Noting that similar material to James Bond has been published "with respect" to Ian Fleming, Ms Hanley urged the Amazon studios to "leave Ian Fleming's name off it" if they replace Bond with a female.

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Ms Hanley explained: "It's Ian Fleming's character, you shouldn't steal him and change him. You can't make Winnie the Pooh into a doll or something.

"There are lots of Fleming publishings, a lot of people who've written more James Bond books, but they've been true to Ian Fleming, they've respected him. But if you want to get a new character, a female character, leave Ian Fleming's name off it.

"They can be 007, but not Jemima Bond. I'm a little worried because the Americans are in charge. I just hope that they remember that Ian Fleming wrote it about an English tough guy round about the 40s and 50s, so don't change it too much, please."

Weighing in on the debate, Really, 007! Podcast contributor John Kell agreed that the character of James Bond "should not be written as a woman".

Mr Kell told GB News: "So the books from Ian Fleming have been used throughout the films, and in the previous film, the character of 007, obviously 007 being the agent's name, was played by a woman already, and I think that was a really positive step.

"It was highlighting that there is nothing that a female cannot do that a male agent also can't do."

He concluded: "I also agree with Jenny, though, that I don't think that the character of James Bond should be written as a woman, as a Fleming wrote the character as a man.

"So I would agree that he should continue as a man in the future films."