Like Daniel Craig before her, Dame Judi Dench has backed plans to bring the characters of Miss Moneypenny and Q back to the James Bond series.

Dame Judi Dench

According to the Lincolnshire Echo, Dame Judi briefly discussed the return of these characters in an interview with the Daily Telegraph. She said: ‘That would be good if it was thought right to bring back those characters. Wouldn’t it be Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny and John Cleese as Q. Who else?’

Dame Judi also confirmed her involvement in the forthcoming Bond 23, which will mark her seventh appearance as ‘M’ following her debut in 1995′s GoldenEye. She said: ‘You bet. As M you get to treat this powerful man very, very badly.’

As many 007 fans are aware, the Moneypenny and Q characters were dropped from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Prior to this, Samantha Bond had portrayed the MI6 secretary for all four of Pierce Brosnan’s Bond films and had been quoted as saying that when Brosnan left the series, so would she.

‘If Miss Moneypenny is written in it wouldn’t be me–I left with my Bond,’ she said. ‘I think she’s missed but I am happy that she’s not there because it means I am irreplaceable.’

John Cleese first appeared in the series as ‘R’ in The World is not Enough and then inherited the gadgetmaster role from Desmond Llewellyn for Die Another Day.

What remains unclear at this very early stage is who exactly would portray these characters if they were indeed set to return. Voice your opinion here on the CommanderBond.net Forums.

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