Next Bond: The name’s Foster, Doctor Foster.

Suranne Jones, star of the BBC’s underwater thriller Vigil, has been added to the list of potential suitresses to take on the mantle as the next James Bond.

Fans of the spy series have long speculated about who’d be fit to portray Daniel Craig’s character when he steps down from the role. And the 43-year-old, who plays DCI Amy Silver in the six-part drama set in Scotland, is priced at 9/1 by William Hill following demand for her inclusion in the market.

The Chadderton-born actress and former Coronation Street star wowed us with her layered, nuanced and powerful performances in Doctor Foster and Gentleman Jack, and is deemed by many fans to be the ideal female Bond.

For years fans of the classic British spy franchise have been asking for a gender-swapped Bond, with Emilia Clarke, Priyanka Chopra and Gillian Anderson having all previously coveted the role. Even Luther star Idris Elba (8-1) had suggested the next Bond should be a woman.

And with Doctor Who seeing the first female doctor in the franchise met with moderate success, what’s stopping Suranne Jones from stepping into the superspy’s shoes?

But even with former Bond stars like George Lazenby and Pierce Brosnan lining up to celebrate the idea of a female Bond, Barbara Broccoli, who oversees the films, is “not particularly interested” in casting a woman, stating “he can be black, but he is male.”

Nevertheless, William Hill is offering odds of 11/2 for a female James Bond in the next movie, with Vigil star Suranne Jones (9-1) and Lashana Lynch (10-1) leading the way.

There were rumours that costar Lashana Lynch was being set up as the next Bond, but the trailer for No Time To Die has revealed she’s playing a 00 agent in her own right.

Current favourite at 5/2 is Revenant and Venom star Tom Hardy, tracked closely by Bridgerton’s dashing Rege-Jean Page and McMafia star James Norton.

Killing Eve star Jodie Corner, who is on record as declaring her willingness to play a ‘villanelle’ – particularly with Flea-Bag and Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge as one of the lead screenwriters – is next on the list of contenders at 200-1.

Among the more far fetched of contenders to Craig’s throne are Charlize Theron (250-1), whose role as a British spy called Lorraine in new action film Atomic Blonde is often compared to the female Bond, while Silent Witness star Emilia Fox – Lazenby’s fancy for the role – Suicide Squad’s Margot Robbie, and Emily Blunt are all priced at 500-1. Screenwriter Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Line of Duty star Vicki McLure are offered at 1000-1.

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