The actress who played Miss Moneypenny in 14 James Bond movies, Lois Maxwell, has died aged 80.

Maxwell played the role from the first 007 movie outing - alongside Sir Sean Connery in Dr No - until 1985’s A View To A Kill with Sir Roger Moore.

As secretary to M, the head of the secret service in the spy series, Maxwell appeared in more of the Bond movies than both Sir Sean Connery and Sir Roger Moore.

She was surpassed only by Desmond Llewelyn, who played Q 17 times.

Sir Roger Moore said the actress had moved to Australia to be near her son after she was diagnosed with cancer.

'She was absolutely perfect casting,' he said.

'It was a great pity that, after I moved out of Bond, they didn’t take her on to continue in the Timothy Dalton films.

'I think it was a great disappointment to her that she had not been promoted to play M. She would have been a wonderful M.'