GWENT Hollywood star Luke Evans – hotly tipped to be the next James Bond - had admitted he'd relish the chance to take up the licence to kill.

Speculation of who the next actor to appear as the suave super-spy has run rampant since Daniel Craig’s final outing as 007, No Time to Die, was released last year.

And one of the names to come up repeatedly is Beauty and the Beast star Luke Evans, who is originally from Pontypool.

The 43-year-old appeared on BBC Radio Wales earlier this week, where he was grilled by presenter Behnaz Akhgar, who said: "It would be lovely to have a Welsh Bond wouldn’t it?"

She said: “I mean, if you were offered the role, obviously you’re going to go for it aren’t you?"

Replying, the Fast and Furious 6 star said: “Oh no, definitely not”, before bursting into laughter.

Undeterred, Ms Akhgar said: "You’re made for it.

"You’ve got the looks, you’ve got the personality, you’ve got the swag."

Saying "I appreciate the support," Mr Evans conceded he would be keen to pick up Bond's trademark Walther PPK if he was given the chance.

"Listen, if it was up to me, you know, we’d already be shooting.

"Who knows."

Mr Evans would in fact be the second Welsh actor to play 007 after Colwyn Bay-born Timothy Dalton, who made two appearances appeared in The Living Daylights in 1987 and Licence to Kill in 1989.

Bookmaker Coral is currently offering odds of 20/1 on Mr Evans being the new James Bond. Other favourites include Superman star Henry Cavill at 3/1, Bodyguard's Richard Madden at 8/1, Venom star Tom Hardy at 7/1 and Happy Valley actor James Norton at 9/2.