Phoebe Waller-Bridge says she added 'little spices' to James Bond 'No Time to Die' script

Fleabag creator and multiple Emmy winner Phoebe Waller-Bridge has revealed she was not asked to “change the culture” of the James Bond films when she worked on the script for No Time to Die.

The 34-year-old writer told the BBC she was asked to “help out” with the screenplay for Daniel Craig’s swansong as Bond, adding “little spices” to the script.

Waller-Bridge said her involvement came about after she was approached by producer Barbara Broccoli, though she believes Craig and Broccoli had discussed her for some time.

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But she rejected the suggestion that she was brought in out of a desire to repair the franchise’s reputation in terms of its treatment of women in the #MeToo era.

“They were already doing that themselves," she said. "They're having that conversation with themselves the whole time.

“It was much more practical. Just: ‘You're a writer, we need some help with these scenes. And you come up with some dialogue for these characters'."

Waller-Bridge’s involvement in No Time to Die makes her the first woman to be credited for a Bond script since Johanna Harwood co-wrote Dr No and From Russia With Love almost six decades ago.

The Brit was hired in April to polish the script written by veteran Bond scribes Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, which had also been looked at by The Report writer-director Scott Z. Burns.

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She said it “doesn’t get cooler” than writing dialogue for a Bond film and said she had the opportunity to spend a lot of time on the set of director Cary Fukunaga’s movie.

The actor confirmed, however, that she does not have a role in front of the camera.

No Time to Die is expected to be Craig’s final outing as James Bond and will see Rami Malek portray a villain who crosses the spy’s path when his friend Felix Leiter brings him out of retirement.

Ralph Fiennes, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw and Naomie Harris are among the supporting cast members reprising their roles from previous installments.

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No Time to Die is due to arrive in UK cinemas on 2 April 2020.