ANY James Bond fans hoping that 007 might finally get in touch with his feminine side should feel relatively cheery.

Gillian Anderson, whose best-known roles include FBI special agent Dana Scully in The X Files, caused a flurry on Twitter when she put her name forward as a replacement for Daniel Craig.

As of yesterday her tweet - "It's Bond. Jane Bond", above a shot of her in a mock-up 007 poster - had been liked 28,000 times and been re-tweeted 14,000 times.

It's still not clear whether Daniel Craig will be stepping down after four hugely successful outings in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall and last year's Spectre.

He has reportedly turned down a £68 million deal to star in two new films - but other reports suggest a final decision has yet to be reached.

Whoever follows Craig - whether it's a James or a Jane Bond - knows that he will be a tough act to follow. Not only has he made 007 his own, but the films have been colossal box-office hits. Spectre alone pulled in a staggering $880,674,609 worldwide.

Other stars who have been linked with the role - first portrayed on film by Sean Connery in 1962 with Dr No - include Idris Elba, Tom Hiddleston and Tom Hardy. Jamie Bell, first seen doing ballet dancing as Billy Elliot, has just emerged as another possibility.

The field is a crowded one, all the more so as Priyanka Chopra, the Indian Bollywood actress, declared "I wanna be Bond" when asked whether she would be playing a future Bond girl.

Eon Productions, the company behind the movies, says that producer Barbara Broccoli “regularly speaks to lots of actors and nothing has been decided yet on Bond.”

Today we run the various names linked to the role through M's computer to see who looks like the best shot.

So, will it be 'Come in, Ms Bond - we've been expecting you'?

GILLIAN ANDERSON

Born: Chicago. Age: 47

A female James Bond? It couldn't work. Could it?

For 54 years we've been accustomed to Bond as a rugged, testosterone-fuelled uber-bloke, seriously handy with a gun, or in a close-quarters fight - and with a tendency to be lethal when it comes to the many women who cross his path. In Goldeneye, Judi Dench, as M, called Pierce Brosnan's Bond (to his face) a "sexist, misogynist dinosaur". Many real-life women have railed against 007's sexist behaviour. The novelist Bidisha once wrote: "Ian Fleming hates women and I don't buy into anything to do with that. The Bond films are generally sexist. I don't like anything that descends from a sewer of misogyny."

Then again, the most recent films have been graced by strong, no-nonsense female characters - Dench as M, and Naomie Harris as Moneypenny. And Bond himself was on the receiving end of a playfully homoerotic approach from Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) in Skyfall.

A female Bond would be a radical step, and then some. But many films have featured women playing fearless, all-action heroines: Angelina Jolie as a CIA agent in Salt. Geena Davis in The Long Kiss Goodnight. Chloë Grace Moretz as Hit Girl in the two Kick-Ass movies. Uma Thurman slicing and dicing in Kill Bill volumes one and two. Others include Michelle Yeoh, Milla Jovovich, Kate Beckinsale, Gina Carano, Scarlett Johansson, Michelle Rodriguez, Maggie Q, Jennifer Lawrence and Emily Blunt.

As Craig himself told Bustle online magazine when asked if a woman could play 007: "Sure, yeah, definitely. I think it’s a great idea. If it works, it works. That’s the great thing about film - it’s all about how far you can push the imagination, so of course it could happen. Not that’s it a huge push, it’s just that anything is possible."

But Christoph Waltz, who played the villain in Spectre, was less sure, telling Bustle: "[I think it's] complete and utter nonsense. I think there should be great parts for women, I do think that. I just think that James Bond is not one of them. I think that if a woman would play James Bond, it wouldn’t be James Bond. Can you do it? Of course you can, you can do anything, but does it make sense? Not one bit."

Could Bond fans worldwide accept such a break with tradition to the point where the agent doing all the sprinting, fighting, scheming, bedding and generally saving the world was female?

IDRIS ELBA

Born: London. Age: 43

"I’M probably the most famous Bond actor in the world, and I’ve not even played the role.” That's Idris Elba's take on the whole 'who'll be the next Bond' debate. The actor has often been linked with 007 and just one look at his portrayal of the drug dealer Stringer Bell in his break-out US TV hit, The Wire, was all it took to confirm that Elba has real screen presence. He has since starred as TV detective Luther and in films such as Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Pacific Rim. Bond author Anthony Horowitz has apologised for “clumsily” suggesting that Elba was “probably a bit too street” to play 007. But Elba surely has what it takes to take on this biggest of cinema roles: an athleticism and a formidable, brooding, self-assured persona. Some fellow actors have suggested that he has a “watchful gravitas.” Former Bond, George Lazenby, thinks it would be a “good idea” if Elba replaced Craig.

TOM HIDDLESTON

Born: London. Age: 35.

HIS role in the hit BBC adaptation of John le Carre’s spy drama, The Night Manager, earlier this year confirmed his status as a heart-throb. He has since featured strongly in the running to be the next 007. Some reports say the Bond films’ producer, Barbara Broccoli, is most taken with him - a big plus given that she's the woman who calls the shots on the actor who'll next be drinking the onscreen Martinis. An insider was recently reported to have told a tabloid: “Barbara initially feared Tom was ‘too posh’ to play 007, but she’s been impressed. She wasn’t familiar with his whole catalogue, but she’s watched hours and hours of footage, and her perception has totally changed." If confirmed as 007, he would certainly have the elegance and the poise to carry it off. In March, on the Jimmy Kimmel US TV chat show, he said the subject of the next Bond was one of Britain’s favourite pub conversations. “I play a British spy in The Night Manager and people, I think, have made the link,” he said of speculation tying him to the 007 role. If confirmed, he has the acting chops and suavity to pull it off. He has, however, also said: “I’m very aware of the physicality of the job. I would not take it lightly.”

TOM HARDY

Born: London. Age: 38.

“I would love to do it,” Tom Hardy enthused last October when asked whether he’d like to replace Daniel Craig. “Who wouldn’t? If I did get the chance, I would smash it out the park.” He added: “But there are a load of British actors who could do just the same. There is a long list of talent in this country who would love the honour just as much as me and could do it just as well.” An intense, experienced and muscular actor (his startlingly diverse CV includes Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant, The Dark Knight Rises, and Legend, in which he played both the Kray twins), he would be a popular choice as Bond. A Yahoo Movies poll in March put him ahead of the rest of the field: he won 26 per cent of the 1,292 votes cast, ahead of Hiddleston and Elba. In February Ladbrokes suspended betting on Hardy winning the role. “Our spies are convinced Hardy will be the next 007,” said a spokesman. Like Hiddleston, he’s young enough to play Bond for a few movies. Some Bond fans have carped that he’s a bit too short to play Bond, but Daniel Craig isn’t much taller than him. You wouldn't have any trouble believing that Hardy's 007 would be capable of dark deeds.

DAMIAN LEWIS

Born: London. Age 45.

HE was Brody in Homeland, he was Henry VIII in Wolf Hall. His latest TV role as a ruthless hedge-fund king in the Showtime hit, Billions, has endeared him further to US TV audiences. A few months ago Lewis was asked if he was being given the part. He quipped: “I would tell you but I would have to kill you.” Barbara Broccoli admires him and signed him up for another film project, The Silent Storm. Certainly, he has the looks and the acting ability to do a persuasive job as James Bond – he has also joked that 007’s Scottish background had paved the way for a redhead to fill his shoes. Lewis was at one time a bookies’ favourite to win. He has bags of Old Etonian charm, too - though that might not appeal to all viewers.

AIDAN TURNER

Born: Republic of Ireland. Age: 32

FROM Poldark to MI6? Turner’s buffed and shirtless appearance in the BBC series wowed lots of fans, as did his role in the Agatha Christie adaptation, And Then There Were None. Fans speedily took to Twitter to suggest that he had everything needed to play Bond. Plus, he looks good in a tuxedo (surely a requisite if you want to play Bond). It was reported in March that he was in talks to star as 007. Said a source: “Aidan has held preliminary talks with Bond producers and being in LA will give him a further chance to discuss the role.” He’s young enough to play 007 for the next few movies and has the kind of brooding good looks – to say nothing of a ready-made fan-base - that would not do the films any harm.

JAMIE BELL

Born: Teeside. Age: 30.

JAMIE Bell has emerged as the latest surprise choice to become the next Bond and is said to have had informal meetings with producers. A source says Barbara Broccoli “has been a fan of Jamie for a long time and has even thought about him playing another role in the franchise before. Everyone remembers Jamie as the little boy in Billy Elliot, but he’s now bulked up and got some serious roles under his belt … Tom Hiddleston and Aidan Turner are still in the frame, but Jamie has really shown that he is definitely up there competing with them.” Bell has bulked up considerably and has made some adventurous acting choices, including Nymphomaniac Vol II - and sleeper TV series hit Turn about George Washington's spy ring during the American War of Independence. He may be a dark horse in the Bond stakes, though - but you can't write him off. He also has age on his side. Other actors who have been suggested for the role include James Norton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Henry Cavill, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Dornan, David Oyelowo and Jason Statham. All have their cheerleaders - and many have their detractors.

THE NEXT BOND FILM?

IT'S anyone's guess as to what the subject will be. Three months ago, however, the Cinema Blend website quoted an interview with Bond producer Gregg Wilson by the Scandinavian site Filmweb. Asked about the next film, he said: "We’ve just begun to doodle with ideas for the next movie. Each script process begins when we ask ourselves the question ‘What is the world afraid of now?’ In the case of Spectre, the theme was global monitoring and utilization of information. So now we are trying to find out what will be relevant in the coming years." Bond versus Islamic State, anyone?