But the scriptwriters' attempts to tone down the comedy, made Dalton's Bond in The Living Daylights and A Licence To Kill, a dark, vulnerable, humourless man.

BBC: The many faces of Bond

What better way to demonstrate your capacity to work with opponents and distinguish yourself from Mr Gore, who has a reputation for divisiveness than to appoint a man who was, until recently, trying to bash the living daylights out of you?

ECONOMIST: Be my number two