Honor Blackman, Joanna Lumley and Jane Seymour look back on their brushes with James Bond

With rumours swirling that Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney could become the next Bond girl, the debate around what it means to be part of the 007 legacy has been reignited.

In a new interview with Variety, Sweeney addressed speculation that she’s being lined up for a role in James Bond 26, following reports that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos – whose company now oversees the franchise through Amazon MGM Studios – wants her for the 2028 film.

"To be honest, I don’t know all the Bond rumours," Sweeney said. "But I’ve always been a huge fan of the franchise, and I’m excited and curious to see what they do with it."

Asked whether she’d be interested, Sweeney added: "Depends on the script. I think I’d have more fun as James Bond."

With speculation mounting about who could next join the Bond universe, we’ve delved into the Radio Times archives to uncover what some of cinema’s most memorable Bond girls said about their time alongside 007 – from the early days of the 1960s to later reflections on fame, independence and the weight of playing opposite the world’s most famous spy.

Honor Blackman – Pussy Galore, Goldfinger (1964)

By the time she appeared as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, Honor Blackman had already made her mark on British television as Cathy Gale in The Avengers. Her martial arts skills and commanding presence made her a natural fit for the self-assured pilot and leader of an all-female flying team who sparred with Sean Connery’s Bond.

Speaking to Radio Times in 2012, Blackman reflected on how much the Bond franchise – and its portrayal of women – had changed since her day, expressing irritation at the "Bond girl" label and nostalgia for the tougher, more ruthless 007b of earlier films.

"There was no such thing as a Bond girl in my day," she said. "And being called one now drives me mad! It makes us sound like bimbos who fell flat on our backs the moment we caught sight of Bond. Pussy was a strong woman and a brilliant character; that’s why I wanted to play her.

"But Daniel Craig isn’t allowed to be Ian Fleming’s Bond. Today’s Bond has to care about being liked, he has to be in love, to have remorse about killing. The early James could bed a lady, kill her on his way out then go to the bar and order a martini."

In an earlier interview from 2001, she reflected with candour on the role’s lasting shadow over her long career: "The best [thing about playing Pussy] was that I became better-known; the worst is that it is all l am really remembered for."

Joanna Lumley – 'The English Girl', On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

Before becoming one of Britain’s most recognisable screen stars, Joanna Lumley’s first brush with big-screen fame came as one of Blofeld's "Angels of Death" in George Lazenby’s sole Bond outing, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Though her part was small, the film’s sweeping production – shot in the snow-covered Swiss Alps – left a lasting impression on the young model-turned-actress. Looking back in 1999, Lumley told Radio Times how glamorous and surreal the experience was, recalling a movie-making world that felt both extravagant and unreal.

"After several years modelling, I got a very small part as a Bond girl, but I was booked for two months," she explained. "We went out to Switzerland, where they had taken over an entire village. Olympic skiers were extras, Bond girls were dressed up to the nines, and it was dream movie-making."

Jane Seymour – Solitaire, Live and Let Die (1973)

Jane Seymour became an international star in her early twenties with her role as Solitaire in Live and Let Die, Roger Moore’s first outing as Bond. Playing a mystical tarot-card reader who loses her powers after falling for 007, Seymour’s charismatic performance served as a launching pad for her decades-long career in film and television.

When Radio Times interviewed her in 1995, Seymour reflected on how that early fame and her romantic public image sometimes affected her later casting. Had her reputation for poise and sensuality – reinforced by her 1986 lifestyle book Jane Seymour’s Guide to Romantic Living, with its advice to perfume light bulbs and perfect "delicate seduction ploys" – worked against her in securing more modern, edgy roles?

Seymour, however, was characteristically forthright about her journey through Hollywood and her refusal to be defined by sex appeal alone.

"Are you asking if I miss making sex and violence movies?" she said. "Not really. Been there, done that – well not really. James Bond was a distant cousin to the new genre, and I’ve been in some fairly sexy stuff, survived mistakes and dubious projects. [1979 TV movie] Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders was the worst, but also the most successful.

"I loathed every minute and don’t understand why I was considered a sex symbol. I'm notoriously minuscule. All my friends have breast enlargements and they look fabulous – like matching pairs of grapefruits. There was a time I thought of having it done, but I looked in the mirror and said, 'You are what you are.' I'd bump into them and it would cause havoc with my backhand.

"I'm no prude – I happily run round the house not worrying about clothes – but when your life is this public and you show emotions every day, there are certain parts you want to keep private. I have no need to be an exhibitionist."

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