A co-production between Sky Atlantic and BBC America, the original four-part drama will star Dominic Cooper (Mamma Mia!) as Fleming and Pulver as Ann O’Neill, an elegant Baroness.

Pulver commented: “I am thrilled to be playing Ann, a real life high society siren worthy of Fleming’s finest fictional femme fatales. In extraordinary times Ann had the ear of politicians as powerful as Churchill and counted artists like Lucian Freud among her friends, yet was consumed by a torrid romance with the great Ian Fleming; a twisted and passionate love that would last the rest of their lives.”

Cooper added: “Stepping into the shoes of the spy who not only created the enigmatic character of 007, but who fantasised about being him, has to be every actor’s dream. I am honoured that Sky Atlantic and Ecosse have given me this opportunity.”

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Fleming will begin filming on location in the UK and Budapest soon and will air on Sky Atlantic later this year.

Executive Producer Douglas Rae teased: “Ian Fleming’s story is as dramatic and entertaining as any of the Bond films. I’m thrilled that we are able to tell this extraordinary story on such an exciting channel as Sky Atlantic.”

The official synopsis reads: “The outbreak of WWII saw a young Fleming as an unsuccessful stockbroker already with a failed army career behind him, living off his rich family whilst indulging his passions of alcohol, erotic literature and sexual conquests.

“But having been forced into Naval Intelligence through family connections, Fleming found a calling. Utilising his vivid imagination, charm and mischievous sense of humour he was responsible for some of the most outrageous counter intelligence missions against the Nazis, full of danger and intrigue, the experience of which would form the basis of the Bond books.

“Set against the permissive society of war-torn London, where champagne (and martinis) were always flowing and beds were always being swapped, Fleming explores the early life of the charming, enigmatic creator of 007.”

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