She was the woman who stole 007's heart, had his child and tearfully looked on as he sacrificed himself to save her.

And now Léa Seydoux, who played Dr Madeline Swann in Spectre and No Time to Die, has said she doesn't believe the new iteration of James Bond will 'be the same' under American ownership.

The former Bond girl, 41, has said she hopes the forthcoming film, directed by Denis Villeneuve, will retain its 'British spirit' following its sale to Amazon MGM in 2025 for a reported $1billion.

The film franchise was launched by late film producer Albert R 'Cubby' Broccoli in 1962, but his daughter Barbara Broccoli and her half-brother Michael G Wilson had been the guardians of the franchise before its sale to Jeff Bezos' company last year.

'I really loved working with Barbara Broccoli and her brother Michael,' she told ELLE UK.

'It was one of the best experiences, a pure delight. And I don't know, it will be different.'

She said that Arrival director Villeneuve was a 'great choice', adding: 'Let's see.'

'I'm curious how they will reinvent it. But for me, it will never be the same because it was Barbara's father who initiated the Bond movies,' she said.

'Now, I don't know, it became American. I hope they will keep the British spirit.'

Ms Seydoux starred in not one but two Bond films, sharing scenes with outgoing 007 Daniel Craig in 2015's Spectre and No Time to Die in 2021.

Speaking as she posed for the cover of November's ELLE UK, Ms Seydoux also told of the 'difficulty' she faced stripping off for nude scenes in film The Unknown, following her second pregnancy.

The mother-of-two said: 'They were difficult for me, of course, but it's the body I had at the time I made those films.

'I think it's important to see bodies that you can relate to… to make it more believable in a way.

'It was a few months after I gave birth, and I'm proud to show my body, that is, a real body.'

Five years on from Craig's final scenes as the legendary character, the role is still yet to be cast, despite rumours swirling that Callum Turner, Jack Lowden, Harris Dickinson, Jack Barton and Aaron Taylor-Johnson are among those on the audition list.

A statement from Amazon MGM released earlier this year said: 'The search for the next James Bond is underway.

'While we don't plan to comment on specific details during the casting process, we're excited to share more news with 007 fans as soon as the time is right'.

The November issue of ELLE UK is on sale from 08 October