The Venom star has dominated the bookies’ predictions to be the Next James Bond, even before Daniel Craig signed on for No Time To Die. Tom Hardy has had odds as good as Evens at times and is often at the very top of the list. But now Brits have given their verdict in a new poll which sees the 44-year-old unceremoniously ditched from top place.

In a recent poll of 1000 Brits conducted by 888poker, Hardy received an impressive 17 per cent of the vote. However, another Bond favourite, Idris Elba, who currently has best odds of 6-1 at the age of 49, is the UK’s favourite to replace Craig on 19 per cent.

Incredibly, the outgoing Bond himself was in third place, with 12 per cent wanting the No Time To Die star to return to the franchise like Sean Connery did in 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever. This would be seemingly impossible, since Craig’s secret agent actually dies at the end of his fifth and final outing.

Scroll down for the full top 10 of Britain’s choice for the next Bond, which features three Americans, plus some former favourites who have slipped out of contention.

There may be calls from some fans for a woman to play Bond, but producer Barbara Broccoli has repeatedly confirmed that the new 007 must be a man, respecting Ian Fleming’s vision of the character.

Additionally, the EON Productions boss has said she and co-producer Michael G Wilson are open to male actors of any race.

It’s been 17 years since the last set of secretive Bond auditions took place. Famously, contenders have to do a screen test from a scene in From Russia with Love in which Bond wears a towel.

Considering October 5, 2022, marks the 60th anniversary of the first 007 movie Dr No, that would be our best bet for when the new Bond is announced.