From Rusholme With Love - will there be a Manc Bond?

“Bond, Manc Bond, licence to mither”.

The experts at William Hill seem quite keen on the idea of a Mancunian Bond.

In fact they’ve revealed their top Manchester picks in the race to find the next 007.

Suranne Jones is at 33-1, Rob James-Collier is 66-1 and Steve Coogan is 200-1.

According to the gambling company: “Manchester breeds some of the finest acting of the nation, for both TV and film.

"And with the rumour mill keeping on turning over who will take over from Daniel Craig after his explosive exit from No Time to Die, perhaps the Northern region will have just the replacement.”

Bafta-winner Jones - who started her career playing Karen McDonald in Coronation Street - has the best odds.

But the Oldham-born actress already has a very busy career, most recently as the star of BBC period drama Gentleman Jack, police drama Vigil and in the one-off I Am Victoria.

The bookies say her long stint in ITV crime drama Scott & Bailey could give her the edge as the next Bond.

The next Manc in line, or rather Salfordian, is Rob James-Collier.

He's best known for his roles as butler Thomas Barrow in Downton Abbey and Liam Connor in Coronation Street.

William Hill’s final pick for Bond is Steve Coogan, tipped 200-1.

Although best known for playing Norwich radio host Alan Partridge - himself a massive Bond fan - we all know Coogan can do an excellent Roger Moore impression. But could he make the role his own?

The frontrunners in the James Bond market currently stand as long standing favourite Regé-Jean Page (5-2), followed by Henry Cavill (7-2) and Michael Fassbender (5-1).

This story first ran in The Mancunian Way, a daily newsletter with analysis and insights on the day's biggest stories. And sometimes we cover this kind of thing