BOOKMAKER William Hill has revealed that Poldark star Aidan Turner has seen his odds slashed in the race to find an actor to star as the next James Bond after Daniel Craig leaves the movie franchise based on Ian Fleming’s spy novels.

Aidan Turner, the Dublin-born actor who starred as Ross Poldark in the hit BBC series based on Winston Graham’s Cornish novels set in the 18th century, has seen his odds cut from 13-2 down to 7-1 in the race to play the next James Bond - and has even overtaken previous favourite Tom Hardy this week.

William Hill’s next James Bond market sees Turner as fifth favourite behind Rege-Jean Page, Henry Cavill and Michael Fassbender, sitting at 7-1 alongside Idris Elba. This also puts him ahead of previous frontrunners Lashana Lynch (10-1) and Jamie Dornan (12-1) – the Northern Irish actor who has starred as Paul Spector in BBC series The Fall, as Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades of Grey movies and most recently as main protagonist Elliott Stanley in the BBC Australian outback thriller series The Tourist.

Although now best known for his role as Poldark, Aidan Turner rose to fame after playing vampire John Mitchell on supernatural drama Being Human, Dante Gabriel Rossetti in the 2009 series Desperate Romantics, and dwarf Kili in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy of J RR Tolkein movie adaptations between 2012 and 2014.

The Poldark series - set in Cornwall and using locations including Gold Diggings at Minions near Liskeard and Charlestown historic harbour - was a TV adaptation of novels of the same title by Winston Graham. The series tells the story of Captain Ross Vennor Poldark’s return from serving in the British army in the American War of Independence, and his subsequent romantic and family aspirations as a mine owner back in Cornwall.

Most recently, Turner has starred as the Italian Renaissance genius artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci in historical drama Leonardo, which recounted the artists’ incredible life and followed his artistic journey.

Speculation has been rife as to who’ll play the next James Bond, following Daniel Craig’s departure from the series after No Time to Die last year.

Turner was first linked with the role late last year after fans touted his ‘brooding’ appearance as ideal for portraying the suave superspy - and despite disregarding the rumours, fans aren’t convinced that the Irish actor is completely off the table.

In fact, Aidan stated that were the position to play Bond free ‘he’d have a look at it’ - suggesting that now might be the time he steps into Craig’s coveted role. And were Turner to take on the prestigious role, he could pick up perfectly where fellow Irishman Pierce Brosnan left off.

Alongside Aidan as the leading Irish picks in the market are German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender (5-1), Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy (12-1), Jamie Dornan (12-1), Gerard Butler (50-1) and Umbrella Academy actor Robert Sheehan (50-1).

Speaking on the odds, a William Hill spokesperson said: “Although Aidan Turner has previously been linked with the role, he’s remained a relatively unknown selection alongside the likes of Rege-Jean Page, Idris Elba and previous favourite Tom Hardy.

“However, there’s no denying a recent surge in interest - and with the Irish actor’s CV suggesting he’s more than capable of taking on the role, it remains to be seen whether we’ll see another Irish 007 on the silver screen!”