Ever since it was first announced that Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge had been brought on board “to help out” with the script for the 25th James Bond film No Time To Die, we’ve been excited to see how her influence would play out on screen.

And now, just weeks away from the film’s cinematic release on 30 September, Lashana Lynch – who plays an MI6 agent and colleague of Bond’s called Nomi – has spoken about how Waller-Bridge helped her to shape the character into a woman who is both “highly competent” and “relatable”.

“When I told Phoebe who I wanted Nomi to be, it wasn’t a conversation,” Lynch told The Guardian. “She just said, ‘That’s exactly what I thought, fab, OK, let’s do it.” 

Lynch said her biggest wish for the character was for her to be a “real woman” whose line of work doesn’t make her “masculine” and “slick” – something she says Waller-Bridge ran with and helped her to bring to the screen.

“She has it together, she’s highly competent and very highly skilled, but she’s a real human being and sometimes she’s awkward,” Lynch explained. 

“And that’s what is so clever about Phoebe’s writing. Once we’d had a conversation about her possibly being awkward, there were some moments that I read that were just like, ‘Oh no, is she really going to say that in the scene? I’m so here for it!” 

She continued: “I thought there might be a scene where she’s coming out of the toilet and you see her throw her tampon in the bin. 

“We don’t need to make a meal out of it! But we’re in the ladies’ room, you’re going to see someone pick their nose or pull out their wedgie. Bottom line: this woman is going to be relatable.”

Of course, while it’s fascinating to learn more about how Lynch’s character was developed, this isn’t the first time one of the film’s stars has spoken about Waller-Bridge’s transformative impact on the film. 

For example, in an interview with Vanity Fair in February 2020, Ana De Armas – who stars alongside Lynch as Paloma, a CIA agent – said Waller-Bridge’s presence was obvious in her character.

“You could tell that Phoebe was in there,” she said. “There was that humour and spikiness so specific to her. My character feels like a real woman.”

While it’s yet to be seen whether or not the latest instalment in the franchise will mark the start of a (much-needed) new era for Bond, but if Lynch and De Armas’ experiences are anything to go by, it certainly feels like it.  

No Time To Die will be available to watch in cinemas from 30 September

Images: Getty