Bondcast returns! Although sadly, both on the bondcast and here, we have to mourn the passing of Barry Nelson, the first actor to ever play James Bond. Oddly enough, he was an American actor, and they made James Bond an American secret agent in the adaptation of Casino Royale that he was in. He passed away on April 7th, leaving behind a pretty impressive filmography, and a lasting honor as the first James Bond. A moment of silence for Nelson, Barry Nelson.

We'll be bringing you a Bondcast review of the Queen Mary SpyFi archives exhibit on the next episode, and our Casino Royale commentary will be coming up very soon as well. It's a summer packed with Bond events, and we're going to be putting on our finest 007-wear and hitting them up. The ever-present Bondcast microphone will bring you back audio reports whenever possible. Thanks for listening, and we hope to see you back on Bondcast!

When you make your list of the best James Bond films of all time, I'm sure different ones come to mind for each of you. Some people prefer early Bond like From Russia With Love starring Sean Connery, or 80's Bond like The Spy Who Loved Me starring Roger Moore or modern Bond like GoldenEye starring Pierce Brosnan. I'm sure there are even a few On Her Majesty's Secret Service fans out there who prefer George Lazenby and his take on Bond. No matter what your favorite Bond film is (or your favorite Bond actor for that matter), you can always count on a James Bond film to deliver the goods in a few key areas: spectacular action sequences, cool gadgets, memorable villains bent on world domination and, of course, a bevy of beautiful, sexy Bond girls.

Bond girls are a great tradition in the 007 franchise and have been involved in it from the very beginning. In most cases, especially in the films of the 60's and 70's, the Bond girls served mostly as eye candy or a casual fling for 007. As the series progressed, however, the Bond girls evolved from their more ornamental status and developed brains, skills and often played key roles in helping Bond complete his missions. Although, even when they did help him, they still ended up spending some "quality time" with the super-spy in the bedroom, ski lodge, car, submarine or wherever else you could imagine. But really, none of them seemed to mind.

No matter what Bond film is your favorite, Bond girls can be counted on to be smart, beautiful and in some cases as tough and deadly as Bond himself. But sometimes all they really need to do is look good in a bikini to fulfill their Bond girl duties. On that note, and in honor of the latest upcoming Bond film Casino Royale, following are my picks for the seven hottest Bond girls of all time. Alright, enough of me, let's get to the girls:

According to Bottlegreen Drinks Co., the most beautiful British woman of all-time is Gone with the Wind star Vivien Leigh. Okay, I imagine you American readers are now wondering, "What is Bottlegreen Drinks Co. and what do they have to do with the movies?" Unfortunately, I can't really give any answers. I'd never heard of Bottlegreen before this news, either, and a quick glance at their website doesn't have me going, "ooooooh, they make _____." As for their expertise on surveys about British celebrity, I can't find a thing.

Nonetheless, the company apparently polled 1,000 men and women, and Leigh, who died nearly forty years ago, topped the list of British beauties. And what about the most handsome British man, you ask? Well, that would be Cary Grant, whose popularity still astounds me (even though he's grown on me, if only because he appears in so many great films), particularly in the looks department (that hair and butt-chin are awful!). If women aren't ignoring his voice when they claim the attraction, then I give up trying to figure out what women want. Unfortunately, the reports of this news don't include a full list of the male runners-up. As for the other nine ladies who followed in the top ten, you can check them out after the jump.