The War and Peace star bolted from the pack, firming dramatically from 20/1 to 4/7, forcing bookies Ladbrokes to temporarily suspend betting on Daniel Craig's successor in the iconic role.

"We're taking a breather on Bond betting whilst the market settles," said a Ladbrokes spokesman. "The gamble on Norton has seemingly come out of nowhere, but money talks, and punters clearly think he's worthy of being 007 favourite if nothing else."

Norton's unexpected favouritism suggests there may be some inside knowledge behind the punters' swift plunge in a field that features everyone from Idris Elba to Tom Hardy.

One explanation behind the increased expectation Norton will be slipping into the Bond tuxedo is the announcement the BBC has commissioned a third series of Poldark, thus likely ruling out previous 007 favourite Aidan Turner.

Norton was widely acclaimed in the role of Prince Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky in the BBC production of War and Peace and is also well known to TV audiences as ex-con Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley.

Tom Hiddleston remains a 4/1 shot with Ladbrokes while Jamie Bell, Bradley Cooper and Henry Cavill are outside contenders at 16/1.

Meanwhile, Australian online bookie Sportsbet has also been getting in on the Bond action with an extensive list of possible replacements including Helen Mirren (221 -1) P Diddy (271-1) and former Tory party leader William Hague (501 -1).

Daniel Craig has starred in the past four Bond films and has repeatedly said he would be turning in his licence to kill, however there has, as yet, been no official announcement.