Sir Sean Connery voted best James Bond as Edinburgh actor nears 90

Edinburgh-born Sir Sean Connery, who turns 90 in two weeks’ time, has been rated as the top screen James Bond in a poll by RadioTimes.com.

He beat Timothy Dalton and Piers Brosnan in the final round of the contest in which 14,000 people voted.

Connery starred in six of the 24 Bond films, which are due to be joined by the 25th - No Time to Die - on its planned release on 12 November.

He also returned to appear a seventh time in the unofficial Never Say Never Again in 1983.

David Niven was discounted from the competition for his portrayal of 007 in the unofficial 1967 version of Casino Royale, along with Barry Nelson from the 1954 TV version.

The first round saw Connery beat current Bond Daniel Craig after securing 56 per cent of the vote.

Brosnan beat one-off Bond George Lazenby in the other heat with 76 per cent of the vote.

Sir Roger Moore, who died in 2017, lost out to Dalton after scoring just 41 per cent of the vote.

The final saw Connery pitted against Dalton and Brosnan, with the actors securing 44 per cent, 32 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.

Connery played Ian Fleming’s spy for the first time in the 1962 film Dr No before going on to star in From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever.

Tim Glanfield, editorial director of RadioTimes.com, said: “Sean Connery has once again proven he’s the Bond with the Midas touch.”

Two years ago, Connery was named as the most handsome Bond following research by a Harley Street plastic surgeon.

A facial mapping technique found Connery’s eyes, eyebrows, nose, lips, chin, jaw and facial shape - which were measured from his appearance in Goldfinger in 1964 - came closest to the ancient Greeks’ idea of perfection.

Moore was second, followed by Dalton, Brosnan, Lazenby and Craig.

Dr Julian De Silva, who runs the Centre For Advanced Facial Cosmetic And Plastic Surgery in London, said: “Sean Connery has been feted as the most handsome Bond for years - and it is great this has now been proved by science.

“He has beautiful facial symmetry and gets closer than any other Bond to having what the Greeks considered the perfect face.

“Connery has an almost geometrically perfect chin of 99.8 per cent, his eye spacing was almost perfect and his lips are beautifully shaped.

“Across the 12 key markers he had the highest combined score.”

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