Actor Richard Madden has once again been tipped as the new James Bond - by one of his producers on hit TV show The Bodyguard.
The Scot, who has become adept at avoiding rumours he is signed up for the 007 role, had been expected to return for a second series of the BBC drama.
However, shortly after the 32-year-old picked up the prize for Best Drama Performance at the National Television Awards last week, it was revealed that his future as war veteran David Budd could be in doubt.
Reports suggest one of the show’s producers told the Mail on Sunday: “We don’t know if Richard will do series two of Bodyguard.”
He then added: “It depends what happens with James Bond - we don’t know yet.”
Mr Madden’s fellow Scot Lorraine Kelly also fuelled further rumours after bumping into him after the NTA ceremony.
On her ITV morning show, she told viewers: “ I think we can safely say Bodyguard is coming back. He’s definitely going to be there.”
She went on to surprise viewers by adding: “And he’s definitely signed to be James Bond.”
It is understood that Bond producer Barbara Broccoli has been in touch with Mr Madden, who grew up in Elderslie, Renfrewshire, following his acclaimed performance in Bodyguard.
He has previously said it was a “brilliant thing” to be touted as Daniel Craig’s successor.
He said: “I love the movies. I’ve read all the books.” But he added: “If you talk about it, you’ll curse it.”
Madden, who also played Robb Stark in the HBO hit fantasy series Game of Thrones, has been described by some in Hollywood as “the perfect choice” to play Bond.
If successful, the actor will become the second Scottish star to play the iconic role after Sir Sean Connery.
Current bond Mr Craig has long expressed a desire to retire from the famously physically-demanding role but has been persuaded by Ms Broccoli to give it one more go.
He has agreed to star in the next 007 film, currently titled Bond 25, due to begin shooting in February 2020.
Shortly before Craig signed the big-money deal, the 50-year-old star was reported as saying he would rather “slash his wrists” than play the character.
He added: “If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here