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“An alternative action hero”
“An alternative action hero”

David was featured on German’s biggest TV channel, ZDF, talking about how James Bond provided him with an alternative role model when he was growing up, especially compared with the supposedly hypermasculine action heroes of 70s and 80s cinema.

Uncovering the Bond art of Michael Gillette
Uncovering the Bond art of Michael Gillette

Michael Gillette’s art is nothing short of beloved by Bond fans. His gorgeous new hardback covers are the culmination of six years of work. He tells the full story here for the first time in this in-depth interview…

Secrets of the Spy Bar
Secrets of the Spy Bar

If I was to tell you that there is a Bond-themed speakeasy bar hidden beneath Whitehall in rooms frequented by intelligence officers during the Second World War, possibly Ian Fleming too, would you accuse me of joking? How about if I added that the bar has an Aston Martin DB5 actually installed into the wall? Well, I never joke about my favourite bars, 007 fans.

Recognising strength – The Woman with the Golden Bullet
Recognising strength – The Woman with the Golden Bullet

Andrea Anders drives the plot of The Man With The Golden Gun. So why is the character often overlooked when people talk about Bond Girls? On the film’s 50th anniversary, Sam Rogers explores how The Man With The Golden Gun was produced on the cusp of massive social change - and how this is reflected in the character of Andrea.

Licence To Queer covers queer aspects of Bond books, video games and more. Search here for your favourite titles and characters or find content related to particular queer identities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, etc).

David Lowbridge-Ellis David Lowbridge-Ellis

What if Noël had said Yes to Dr. No?

I’ve yet to find anyone who thinks having Noel Coward play Dr. No would have been even a vaguely good idea, and that included the man himself. So what did Ian Fleming see in Coward - friend, neighbour, best man, godfather to his son - which the rest of us have missed?

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David Lowbridge-Ellis David Lowbridge-Ellis

Queer re-view: Dr. No

You would think that a film which opens with three men pretending to be blind would alert us to the need to look at things differently. But six decades of straight-washing has obscured quite how queer Bond’s beginnings were - and still are to this day. It’s high time we took the blinkers off: Bond was born this way.

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