Judi Dench thinks Idris Elba should be the next James Bond

M has spoken...

Idris Elba has long been one of the names that constantly comes up in regards to being the next James Bond. Now however he has gotten backing from the head of M16, M herself. Dame Judi Dench memorably played 007's boss in seven Bond films, between 1995 and 2012. And she says Idris Elba is the man for the job. In an interview in The Telegraph, Dench said:

“Oh I think he would be a brilliant Bond.”

Elba and Dench star together in Cats, the upcoming movie version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's long-running feline musical. She also revealed that they shared a 007-related joke while filming the movie.

“When we filmed Cats he kept saying to me ‘Will you send me to the Heaviside Layer?’ And at one point I turned to him and said: ‘No – I’ll send you to MI6’.”

Dench first played M in 1995's GoldenEye, which saw her give orders to new guy Pierce Brosnan. She remained the role for the rest of Brosnan's tenure, in Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. She kept her position when Daniel Craig took over, appearing Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Her version of M was killed off in Skyfall and replaced by Ralph Fiennes, though she did make a cameo in Spectre. Daniel Craig is set to make one final Bond movie.