LONDON, Aug 13 — Slow Horses star Jack Lowden has emerged as a serious contender to become the next James Bond after Richard Osman claimed the Scottish actor is being “strongly considered” for the role.

The 36-year-old is the latest name in the race to succeed Daniel Craig as 007, with the television presenter and author saying he had been tipped off about Lowden on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast.

According to The Independent UK, the former Pointless host initially teased that he had been told “for definite” who the next Bond would be, although he quickly acknowledged similar claims had surfaced before.

“Someone told me for definite who the new Bond is the other day, but I mean that’s happened before,” Osman said.

He later told co-host Marina Hyde: “The name I’ve heard is Jack Lowden.

“It is definitively not a ‘he’s definitely got it’ thing. He is definitely being strongly considered. I think he'd be amazing.”

Hyde noted that Lowden, 36, was at “a good age” to take on the role.

Osman added: “I think Jack Lowden would be an incredible Bond. He’s got real Daniel Craig energy.”

Lowden is best known for playing MI5 agent River Cartwright opposite Gary Oldman in Apple TV+ spy drama Slow Horses.

His other credits include Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, Mary Queen of Scots and the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall.

He is also set to play Mr Darcy in Netflix’s forthcoming adaptation of Pride & Prejudice.

There is another intriguing link between Lowden and the Bond search.

Casting director Nina Gold, who is overseeing the hunt for Craig’s successor, previously worked on Slow Horses and is already familiar with Lowden’s work.

There has, however, been no official indication that he has secured the role.

Lowden joins a long list of actors linked to Bond since Craig bowed out in 2021’s No Time To Die.

Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill remain popular choices, while Wuthering Heights star Jacob Elordi and British actor Callum Turner have also been touted as contenders.

Osman suggested fan favourites should be treated with caution, noting that audiences have rarely predicted the eventual choice correctly.

“We absolutely have to take into account [that] the public would have been wrong on every single Bond appointed, apart from maybe Pierce Brosnan,” he said.

The next Bond film will usher in a new era for the franchise, with Dune filmmaker Denis Villeneuve set to direct.

Producer Amy Pascal has stressed that those behind the movie are taking their time over the casting decision.

“We are being really, really methodical. Having worked with Barbara Broccoli at the studio, I mean, Daniel Craig is a hard act to follow,” she said.

“And it’s got to be something really different that is stirring and exciting and different,” she added.

For now, Lowden remains only a contender — but Osman’s claim has propelled the Slow Horses star firmly into the conversation over who will succeed Craig as 007.