The search for the next 007 is underway, and former Bond girl Alison Papworth has a clear message: Leave one thing untouched.
“What do I hope? I know they’re about to announce the next Bond, aren’t they?” the actress, who also works as a director for a London-based design and consultancy firm, told Fox News Digital. “And we’re all waiting with bated breath.
“If they’re true to the books, I hope it’s a man,” she said. “A man, just a man. Yes, I think it would be very strange if it were a woman. Don’t you? It would be a totally different thing. So, I hope it’s another man, another gorgeous man.”
Papworth’s comments came before Gary Oldman said on “The Morning Show” that his “Slow Horses” costar Jack Lowden could be the next James Bond.
“Jack, it’s been rumored that he’s on the shortlist,” Oldman said on the Canadian talk show. “We’re going to find out pretty soon, aren’t we? Because they have picked him. They have made their choice, but they have not announced it yet. So, my fingers are crossed for Jack.”
According to Deadline, Oldman later clarified his comments, saying, “There’s six people on a shortlist. I heard a rumor that they’ve picked James Bond, but they haven’t announced it yet, which is their prerogative. So, I do not know [who has got the part], but I’m hoping it’s Jack.”
Amazon MGM Studios gained creative control of the James Bond franchise in 2025 after forming a joint venture with longtime Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
In May, the studio announced the search for the next James Bond was underway. Denis Villeneuve is set to direct the next installment, with Steven Knight writing the screenplay. Daniel Craig last played 007 in 2021’s “No Time to Die.”
People magazine reported that Paul Mescal, Jacob Elordi and Jack O’Connell are among the actors rumored to be in the running to take over the iconic role.
The upcoming release will be the 26th Bond film in the more than 60-year-old franchise.
Papworth appeared in 1981’s “For Your Eyes Only” and 1983’s “Octopussy,” both of which starred Roger Moore.
“He was an absolute gentleman,” she said. “Yes, I know everybody says it. I only have fabulous, fabulous memories of him being funny, telling the best jokes. Very dry, very droll.
“One thing I really remember about him, when we were in India, there was a stuntman. I think it was a stuntman. He used to smuggle beef drippings in his luggage for Roger because he loved it. It was very funny, and it stuck in my mind all those years later.”
Being a Bond girl had its benefits. Papworth recalled being flown first class to Rio de Janeiro, where vodka was flowing for the cast, and she tried caviar for the first time. In between filming, she would observe Moore playing Backgammon at picture-worthy destinations.
But life on set wasn’t always as luxurious.
“It was the middle of winter doing the scenes for ‘Octopussy’ where we were fighting in the castle,” Papworth recalled. “We learned to stunt fight, and it was supposed to be in India. But we were at Pinewood Studios, and it was below freezing. All the girls had these red bodysuits on with big capes. We were so cold, we had thermals on underneath. So, we probably looked about five pounds heavier.”
Papworth didn’t expect to appear in two Bond films. She recalled a publicity director once telling her, “Once you’ve done a Bond movie, you get thrown on the Bond Girl scrap heap.” But Broccoli, daughter of longtime Bond producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, had a different idea.
“You can imagine my surprise when I got the call from Barbara Broccoli saying, ‘You’re on the next one, Alison,’” she said. “And it stayed with me. Bond has stayed with me. It’s changed my life.
“My two best friends, I met one on ‘For Your Eyes Only,’ Vanya Seager; she was another Bond girl. And I met my other best friend, Carole Ashby, on ‘Octopussy.’ Carol was there when my baby was born. Vanya and I, we speak every day. I speak to them both every day.
“So, without Bond, I wouldn’t have those two incredible bonds.”
After appearing in two Bond movies, Papworth continued acting and modeling. By the time she reached her 30s, however, her modeling career was “leveling out.”
“My husband had lots of properties, and I’d always loved interior design,” she said. “I’m totally self-taught, but I’m passionate about it. And he just started giving me properties to do, and that developed into our business, which has been running successfully for all these years. I still love it. And after he died, I carried on. He taught me well.”
Today, Papworth is a director at Camhall Design & Consultancy, an interior design company based in the U.K. It has completed projects in London, New York, Boston and the Bahamas. She also helped launch Lustre & Lustre London, which offers “luxury cleaning services.”
Papworth and her close pal, Joan Collins, also teamed up to raise funds for Shooting Star Children’s Hospices. According to the organization’s site, it supports, “babies, children and young people with life-limiting conditions, and their families, across south-west London, north-west London and Surrey.”
Papworth still has fond memories of her time bringing the Bond stories to life.
“I love show business,” she said. “I really do. It’s fabulous. And maybe I’m lucky that I’m not super famous, so I can have a private life. I’m not like my dear friend Joan who gets stopped everywhere. I’m lucky because I can dip in and out of it.
“I still do signings,” Papworth continued. “It went quiet through my 30s and 40s. And then, I don’t know. Bond fans are very good at tracking you down. I started to get invites to do signings. I remember doing my first signing in Birmingham at this huge exhibition center. My husband and my kids came because I was a first-time signer. There were all ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Doctor Who,’ astronauts, boxers and little me.”
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