IAN FLEMING goes undercover in 'Timeless'

Monday's episode of the new NBC time travel series Timeless features English actor Sean Maguire as Ian Fleming. The episode is called "Party At Castle Varlar" and finds Fleming undercover in Germany during World War 2.

POPSUGAR Entertainment recently spoke to the actor about his role:

PS: What excited you the most about playing Ian Fleming? Were you a fan of James Bond growing up?

SM: Of course! You know, I'm a boy that grew up in London. I mean, James Bond is the epitome of a cool, masculine, suave guy. There can't be many guys in Britain that don't aspire to be a little bit like James Bond. As I said, Jim Barnes wrote it knowing that we'd react by saying, "Oh, that's where that comes from in Bond," or, "That's the trait we see in the Bond character." For me, it was essentially as close as I'll ever get to playing James Bond, and I relished every second of it.

You can read the full interview HERE. Timeless airs on NBC Monday's at 10/9c. For more details and more images visit NBC.com.

Thanks to Gary J. Firuta.

UPDATE: Here's a screen capture of Ian Fleming's Weapon of Choice, the Bond book (and film) created by time travel.

"Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond" starts TONIGHT

The first part of Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond airs tonight on BBC America. The four-part miniseries stars Dominic Copper as Ian Fleming and Lara Pulver as Ann O’Neil.

You can check some nice promotional material at the BBC America website, and on the Fleming TV Series Facebook page.

FLEMING biopic to shoot in Budapest next month

Deadline Hollywood reports that Lara Pulver is joining the cast of the Sky Atlantic/BBC America biopic, Fleming. The four-part drama stars Dominic Cooper as James Bond creator Ian Fleming and Annabelle Wallis as Muriel Wright, said to be "the original inspiration for the Bond Girl".

Pulver will play Ann O’Neill, with whom Fleming had a longterm on-off relationship before she became his wife in 1952, the year Fleming wrote the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale.

Also onboard is Samuel West as Admiral John Godfrey with whom Fleming worked during WWII and who put him in charge of Operation Golden Eye. Lesley Manville will play Fleming's mother, Eve, and Rupert Evans plays his brother Peter. Anna Chancellor plays Lieutenant Monday, an inspiration for Miss Moneypenny.

Fleming is an Ecosse Films production for Sky Atlantic and BBC America and, according to Dateline, "takes a no-holds-barred look at the 007 creator and his early life set against the permissive society of war-torn WWII London."

Mat Whitecross is directing from a script by John Brownlow and Don MacPherson with shooting to start in Budapest next month. BBC Worldwide is distributing internationally.

Fleming Girls Lara Pulver (left) and Annabelle Wallis (right).

It's official: Charlie Higson is the next JAMES BOND

Yes, it's true. Young Bond author Charlie Higson will play "James Bond" in 2013!

RadioTimes reports that Charlie Higson has adapted the Miss Marple adventure A Caribbean Mystery for ITV1, and will have a cameo role as unassuming American ornithologist, James Bond.

Of course, this is nod to the real James Bond, author of Birds of the West Indies, whose name was "borrowed" by Ian Fleming for his fictional super spy.

A Caribbean Mystery finds Agatha Christies "spinster sleuth" investigating the death of a guest at a lavish hotel on the tropical island of St Honore. It will be broadcast on ITV1 in the UK in 2013.

Directed by Charlie Palmer, A Caribbean Mystery will feature Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. Supporting players include Robert Webb, Montserrat Lombard, Daniel Rigby, Hermione Norris, MyAnna Buring, Warren Brown, Antony Sher and Higson, Charlie Higson as JAMES BOND.

First photo of the new Bond. (Note character name on window card.)

Speaking of Higson, the latest book in his popular Enemy series, The Sacrifice, has just been released by Puffin Books in the UK.

Thanks to marktmurphy at the CBn Forums for the alert. Follow Charlie Higson on Twitter @monstroso.

Tobias Menzies as Ian Fleming in Any Human Heart

Tanner over at the superb spy blog Double O Section (truly one of my favorite destinations on the web) has the scoop that Tobias Menzies, the actor who played M's assistant Villiers in the 2006 Bond film Casino Royale, stars as Ian Fleming in the Channel 4 production, Any Human Heart, which airs this weekend on PBS's Masterpiece Theater.

The miniseries is based on the William Boyd's 2004 novel of the same name. Check you local PBS listings for times. For more, head on over to Double O Section.