UPPER LEVELS

Moonlight made her a capital-S Star. Now, she’s taking the lead in police thriller Black And Blue and preparing to return as Moneypenny…

NAOMIE HARRIS WAS HAND-DELIVERED THE SCRIPT FOR THE LATEST BOND FILM, No Time To Die, but it wasn’t a studio runner or even the director who did the deed. For the latest in the ever-secretive franchise, the woman who plays Moneypenny was visited by non other than the legendary Bond producer herself, Barbara Broccoli.

So no men with briefcases handcuffed to their wrists?

‘No, not quite that,’ says Harris, laughing. ‘It was the personal touch.’

And so, straight after, she sat, read it in one go (‘There was no putting it down, no stopping for anything’) and decided two things: it was very good (‘It’s going to be fantastic’) and it has huge twists.

‘It’s a tie-up of Skyfall and Spectre. But with massive, massive surprises that even had me like, “Oh, wow!” So I think we’re going to really shock people.’

At the British GQ Heroes summit in May, Harris had said, ‘The Bond of old, his days are numbered.’ Now she’s read the script, has that proved to be the case in what might be Daniel Craig’s last outing as 007? ‘I would say that he’s reconnected with his heart. We’re definitely seeing a Bond who’s more in touch with his feelings and more open to falling in love.’