Craig said he would rather slash his wrists than play another bond movie

This would set off an elaborate poker game during which the producers would publicly test other actors for the role. Eventually Broccoli would match Moore’s demands and he would be back as James Bond. In retrospect, people who complain about Bond fare better with the producers than those who toe the party line. Timothy Dalton, an excellent Bond in his first outing, said nothing even when they put him in a really bad second film ( Licence to Kill — the worst Bond movie of all time). But he got nothing for his loyalty. The US studios asked for him to be replaced by Pierce Brosnan ( who had wanted the role when Dalton got it, but had been committed to TV’S Remington Steele).

Brosnan was a perfectly good Bond in a malemodel- sort- of- way but, one f i ne day, t hey chucked him overboard. The success of the Bourne franchise had convinced them that James Bond needed a reboot, and so they signed Daniel Craig, even though Brosnan was still keen to continue in the role.

So, if Craig does drop out, then who will be the next Bond?

Well, you can forget about Idris Elba. An actor of colour playing the role of Bond will work in the UK ( and possibly in the US) but the series makes over half its profits from international audiences, and the rest of the world is not ready for a black Bond.

At present, the smart money is on ex- Etonian Tom Hiddleston ( Loki in Thor and the Avengers movies), especially after his stellar performance in The Night Manager ( based loosely on the John Le Carre novel) — probably one of the best TV shows ever made. Hiddleston has Bond’s ability to go from being all charming and intelligent ( Hiddleston got a Double First at Cambridge) to suddenly being a man of violence.

But he still looks too much like Loki, in my mind, to fill James Bond’s shoes.

My favourite, at the moment, is Damian Lewis ( another Old Etonian) who you may remember as Brody from Homeland and Henry VIII in Wolf Hall. I reckon he’s perfect for the role.

But the producers have pulled surprises before. Craig, for example, was on nobody’s shortlist.

So who is to say who will be the next man to say the iconic words, “My name is Bond, James Bond”?