Flashback to 2005: Bonding over a pint

When, back on October 14, 2005, all the hype and speculation was ended, and Daniel Craig was unveiled as the new 007, a Roger Moore-style quizzical eyebrow was collectively raised in the tiny hamlet of Hindford, near Oswestry.

The 37-year-old arrived at his press conference in London in style, on a Royal Marines speedboat. Not quite in the daredevil spirit of James Bond was a safety-first approach to this particular assignment, as the star was wearing a lifejacket. The producers were clearly taking no chances with their latest asset.

Clive Owen had been the bookies' favourite for the iconic role, but apparently turned it down.

ER heartthrob Goran Visnjic was another hot tip. Even a dramatic U turn from the previous 007 Pierce Brosnan looked on the cards at one stage. There had been rumours that entertainment giant Sony wanted to entice Brosnan back for one more adventure, seeing him as a dead-cert box office success.

But the sixth official screen 007 was Craig, an actor who had already made a name for himself, but whose choice was controversial, with some branding him too short, blond, and ugly to serve in Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Picking Craig was all part, it was said, of a grand plan by the Broccoli family to take the franchise in a different direction and to present audiences with a younger, more emotionally raw Bond.

He was only the second Englishman to get the job after Moore, with filming of the new movie Casino Royale expected to start the following January.

"I'm speechless at the moment," said Craig as he walked up the gangplank, which sounds like it should be a scene from a 007 movie, but he was actually on his way to that press conference.

His dad Tim Craig had something to say about it though from his home in Hindford.

Tim said he thought he would do extremely well as the secret service's most famous spy.

And staff of Mr Craig's local pub, The Jack Mytton Inn, revealed that the new James Bond was partial to a pint of Guinness, rather than his alter ego's "shaken, not stirred" Martini.

"I am delighted. What he does, he does extremely well. He is a very talented actor," said Tim, who had lived in Shropshire for 15 years.

"It is not an easy task, but he will do well, I am sure of it. I am not a fan of James Bond. I don't dislike it though, but I watch everything he makes.

"He is mature beyond his years so it won't change him. He was ready for something like this.

"He comes here a lot as this is my home, and I go to see him. He is my best friend."

Tim and Daniel were regulars at the Jack Mytton Inn, and Chester-born Daniel had even taken part in the pub's Sunday night quiz.

Licensee Pat Barrett said Daniel was a carbon copy of his dad.

"Daniel has been in here lots of times. He does not drink dry Martinis though – he drinks Guinness.

"He is a really pleasant guy and is very down to earth. The family have been here a long time so everyone knows them locally."

It was not the first time Shropshire had had a link to Ian Fleming's famous creation. Pierce Brosnan had a cousin, Ann O'Callaghan, who lived in Brookside, Telford.

As for Craig, the rest is movie history.

His debut outing as Bond in Casino Royale, released in 2006, was a triumph.

The Star's own Bond critic and aficionado Carl Jones said at the time: "Despite war cries from Bond purists and bets the actor known as 'Mr Potato Head' would not survive the first movie, the gamble has paid off."

Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, and Spectre were to follow.

And James Bond lives on, as next year Craig will be in No Time To Die.