It’s been 60 years since the world premiere of Dr No launched one of the biggest ever film franchises in cinema history on October 5, 1962.
In the six decades since there have been 27 films, with seven actors playing the iconic lead role – Sean Connery, David Niven, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
And Bond is back in the headlines since Daniel Craig announced that ‘No Time To Die’ would be his last James Bond film, with feverish speculation about his successor.
Bond has had a number of different hair and eye colours, personalities, heights and body shapes – while members of his team including Q, M and Moneypenny have been played by a variety of actors.
But one constant has been Bond’s links with Scotland, which have expanded since creator Ian Fleming first put pen to paper.
Here are 10 ways that Scotland can claim a share of the world’s most famous spy.
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1. Sean Connery
Let's start with the obvious - Scotland's Sean Connery was the original James Bond (pictured in Thunderball) and, according to the majority of Scots and film critics, was also the best. He played the spy in seven films between 1962's Dr No and 1983's Never Say Never again and three of his movies (Dr No, Goldfinger and From Russia With Love) are the best reviewed in the entire franchaise. Arguably the main reason that 007 films became popular in the first place, for many people Sean Connery IS Bond. Photo: MacGregor
2. Scottish gadgetry
The picturesque Eilean Donan Castle, on Scotland's stunning west coast, had a memorable cameo in Pierce Brosnan's The World is Not Enough. It provided the backdrop for Q to demonstrate his latest gadget - bagpipes that double as a machine gun. Photo: Canva/Getty Images
3. Edinburgh school days
Ian Fleming loved Sean Connery's performance in Dr No so much that he introduced Scottish heritage for his most famous character in later books. In ‘You Only Live Twice’ it’s revealed that the spy went to private Edinburgh school Fettes College. Connery's real life eduction growing up in Edinburgh's Fountainbridge couldn't have been more different from the spy's - he attended Tollcross Elementary School but quit at the age of 13 to be a milkman. Photo: National World
4. A Scottish father
In ‘On Her Majesty's Secret Service’ Ian Fleming reveals that Bond’s father is originally from picturesque Glen Coe in Scotland - a revelation used to great effect in the film series many years later. Photo: Canva/Getty Images