The name’s Norton, James Norton... and may soon be Bond

If James Norton was becoming tired of people tipping him as the next James Bond I may have bad news for him.

After the arrival of BBC1’s new international gangland drama McMafia last night, the 007 frenzy is only going to get worse.

The fact that Norton looked good in a tuxedo in this opening episode won’t have helped dampen the flames. He can also act the part. He even managed to deliver the line, “I’m a banker, not a gangster” without it sounding like a Michael Jackson lyric. The big question is whether he would want to be typecast as Bond so early in his career. With leading roles in Happy Valley, War and Peace and Grantchester already under his belt, he was always heading for big things.

McMafia will surely speed up that process. It should also help the BBC get 2018 off to a flyer following its less than blockbusting performance over Christmas.

McMafia is a complicated story though, so some viewers may have found the opener hard to follow.

The uncomplicated version is that Norton plays Alex Godman, the straight-laced English-born banker son of an exiled Russian oligarch.

Thanks to his shifty uncle’s dodgy dealings Alex was suddenly forced into the murky world of international organised crime in order to protect his family from Russian gangsters.

That’s where things got personal and McMafia got interesting.

The good news is tonight’s second episode really picks up the pace.

Maybe you should hold off on that Netflix subscription. For now.