Harry Potter star joins new Young Bond series in "gender-swapped" role

The cast of Young Bond: SilverFin has expanded, with Miriam Margolyes, Harry Marcus and Christopher Nathan joining the cast.

The upcoming audio drama, which is set to be released on 29 October, is based on the first novel in Charlie Higson’s the Young Bond book series, and stars Isaac Rouse (The Crown) in the lead role as 007.

Margolyes (Harry Potter) has joined the cast as Cleek MacSawney, “a violent henchperson on the Scottish estate of villain Lord Hellebore”. The character was originally male in Higson’s novel but has been gender-swapped to bring Margolyes on board.

Meanwhile, Marcus (Poldark) will voice Bond’s young friend Red Kelly, while Nathan (The Walking Dead: World Beyond) will voice Eton College bully George Hellebore.

Margolyes said in a statement: “Cleek is a violent, probably insane semi-criminal who works for Lord Hellebore on his estate in Scotland. You wouldn’t want to meet her on a dark night, that’s for sure. I do enjoy playing nasty people!”

Writer and director Barnaby Edwards added: “I’ve been fortunate enough to have Miriam in my life for two decades now. She’s an extraordinary human being and a phenomenal actress. When I began adapting SilverFin, I was determined to get more female characters into it. Thankfully, IFPL and Charlie Higson gave their blessing to gender-swapping the role of Cleek."

He continued: “Miriam’s recording days were huge fun, with everyone upping the ante to match her brilliance. Cleek is a larger-than-life character, but she’s got to be believable. Miriam once said, when questioned about her acting style: ‘I build big, but I build true.’ And that’s exactly what she did for SilverFin. Cleek is fun but also terrifying. The world of Bond has been crying out for Miriam, so it’s wonderful that we finally have her in the family.”

Producer Robert Valentine added: “Casting Miriam Margolyes as the monstrous henchperson Cleek MacSawney was Barnaby’s masterstroke. She’s a phenomenal actor, and absolutely relishes in making MacSawney a vile, revolting, pig-killing ogress. It was a delight watching her work from the back of the studio!”

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Other previously announced cast members include Charlotte McBurney as Wilder Lawless, as well as author Higson as Michael Merriot, the Eton classics tutor who becomes a mentor figure to the teenage Bond.

On the casting, Higson previously said in a statement: “It’s a lot of fun, revisiting the book over 20 years after I first wrote it and reading the scripts thinking, 'Oh, this is good.' And it’s great to be involved in this way, playing a character who develops over the series".

He continued: "Bond is turning up at school as an orphan, and Merriot becomes an alternative father figure who takes an interest in his life."

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Authors

Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.