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James Bond: Licence to Kilt

Actor Robbie Coltrane probes James Bond's Scottish roots and explores the life and influences of author Ian Fleming. From 2015.

If you think about Scotland and James Bond you'll inevitably think about Sean Connery but what we want discover in this programme is just how Scottish the character of Bond really is?

In this exploration of 007's Scottish roots, we've assembled a team of experts to delve into Bond's literary birth and explore the life and the characters who inspired his creator, Ian Fleming.

They include biographers, historians, adventurers and even Ian's own nephew Fergus Fleming who has a tale to tell surrounding the retired armourer in Glasgow who went on to inspire Fleming to invent Bond's faithful boffin 'Q'.

You'll hear about the Bond family tree, the so-called 'Connery Effect' on the character and about a legacy, which continues both in print and on screen some 60 years later.

We'll take you on a journey from the Jute mills of Dundee to the high society of Mayfair. From the battlefields of World War II to the sun kissed beaches of Jamaica and from the Hollywood hills all the way back to the Highlands

And we'll answer the question, how Scottish is James Bond?

Producer: David Flynn

First broadcast on 大象传媒 Radio Scotland in October 2015.

30 minutes

On radio

Mon 31 Mar 2025 10:30

James Bond | The changing world of 007

James Bond | The changing world of 007

In 1952, vacationing newspaper executive Ian Fleming sat down at his Jamaican retreat and started to write the book that would become 'Casino Royale', the first of 14 novels and short stories featuring ruthless spy James Bond. The first Bond film, 'Dr No', would be released 10 years later, marking the start of an astonishingly successful movie franchise that would still be making box-office millions half a century later...

大象传媒 iWonder

大象传媒 iWonder

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Broadcasts

  • Thu 22 Oct 2015 15:30
  • Christmas Day 2015 15:30
  • Boxing Day 2015 10:00
  • Christmas Eve 2019 16:30
  • Christmas Day 2019 04:30
  • Mon 31 Mar 2025 10:30
  • Mon 31 Mar 2025 16:30
  • Tue 1 Apr 2025 00:30