Today sees the release of the latest James Bond film, Spectre, in the US – starring none other than our very own Napoleon of Crime, Andrew ‘Moriarty’ Scott! To mark the occasion, we’re taking a look at the other times that the world’s greatest spy and detective collided.

Sherlock is run by two massive Bond fanboys

Co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss are known for being fans of both Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, another show for which they both write, but they are also huge James Bond enthusiasts. Gatiss has appeared in a radio adaptation of Bond novel From Russia With Love and Moffat has expressed an interest in working on a Bond film in the past, although he also joked: “I think I have to leave something alone that I love, otherwise I’ll have nothing left to watch!”

Flight 007

If you didn’t believe us that Moftiss are big Bond fans than this will surely convince you. You know the scene in ‘A Scandal in Belgravia’ involving a plane-load of dead bodies? That is actually inspired by a deleted scene from 1969 Bond movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, which involves Bond and Q discussing a train full of corpses. The number of the flight – 007 – is a nod to the scene’s origins.

The Skyfall Shot

The cinematic shot of Sherlock looking over his city in ‘The Empty Hearse’ is a deliberate nod by director Jeremy Lovering to the end of then recent Bond film Skyfall. The shot is from a very similar angle to the one in Bond and was filmed from the exact same rooftop. Have a look at just how close the two are below:

John’s blog post

If you’ve never done so before, give yourself a treat and read John’s blog – yep, the actual blog that John updates on the show. It’s filled with records of the episodes, and the blog posts that are mentioned on the show (ever wondered what The Aluminum Crutch was all about? Wonder no more!), as well as all new cases. In one post, it is revealed that on one of their less busy days John showed Sherlock some James Bond films – let’s just say Sherlock was not that impressed.

Mycroft quotes M

In ‘His Last Vow’, Mycroft says his colleague thinks the country needs a “blunt instrument” whereas he describes Sherlock as a “scalpel wielded with precision.” His colleague could well be Judi Dench’s M, James Bond’s boss who calls 007 exactly that in 2006’s Casino Royale.

A couple of episodes before, in ‘The Empty Hearse’, the decor of Mycroft’s office – with its globe on the table and portrait of the Queen – was based on that of the original M from the early Bond films.

Roger Moore played Sherlock Holmes

We’re straying away from Sherlock specifically now and going out into the wider world of Sherlock Holmes. Although most famous for playing Bond in seven films across twelve years, Roger Moore also played England’s other greatest hero in Sherlock Holmes in New York in 1976. And, if the next one comes true, he might not be the only actor to play the two roles…

Benedict Cumberbatch would love to play Bond

One of the favourites to replace current Bond Daniel Craig is none other than Sherlock himself and all round megastar Benedict Cumberbatch – and it turns out he is interested in the role, though he has admitted that it probably won’t happen:

“I don’t think that they would consider me to be Bond. To be honest, I do not know. I can wear a suit. I can do that. I like hand fights, but yeah… I can raise my eyebrow. But, that is not what it takes to play Bond. They might want to go in a very different direction, and who knows? It would be fun though, wouldn’t it?”

Like this? Read about when Sherlock collided with Star Trek and Doctor Who.

Would you like Benedict to be Bond? Leave your thoughts in the comments!