003 of a kind: Tribute to trailblazing screenwriter
James Bond writer Kim Sherwood is flying the flag for women in her 007 debut.
She has created 003, a crack female spy who was once Bond’s lover. And in this story he is the victim and she one of his would-be rescuers.
That she named 003 Johanna Harwood is no accident. Harwood, 92, was, until Phoebe Waller-bridge’s hiring on No Time To Die, (2021) the first and only woman to write for the Bond films. Harwood, who lives in Ireland, was there at the beginning, gaining credits for her work on Dr No (1962) and From Russia With Love (1963) – based on the first Bond book Sherwood read as a teenager.
She said: “I really wanted to honour her legacy so I asked if I could name this character after her and she very kindly gave permission.
“There are lots of different female characters in the book but, for me, Harwood was a really exciting opportunity to bring a female hero to the front of the story. My hope is people will also identify as a female hero and maybe girls may play their spy games as 003 instead of – like me – 007. It was an exciting opportunity for me to put a woman at the front of the stage.
“The first book I read was From Russia With Love. I bought a secondhand copy from Camden Market and I took it with me on holiday.
“I remember in particular Fleming’s description of Red Grant as he’s lying waiting for a massage. Fleming has this way with language where the body becomes vivid and uncanny and lurid.
“The skin is described as burned meat. The muscles seem so outsized. The sun is glaring off them and it just caught my imagination. I remember reading that passage to my mum and saying, ‘listen to this style.’ From that point on Fleming influenced my writing.”
Corinne Turner, managing director of Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, said: “In her first novel, Testament, Kim showed a rare gift for characterisation, time and place. She drew readers into a journey that unfolded in unexpected ways. These talents and her near lifelong passion for Fleming and Bond make her the perfect choice for this exciting new extension of the 007 universe. I can’t wait for readers to see what she’s created.”