No Time to Die writer makes sexist ‘joke’ about Phoebe Waller-Bridge on Bond podcast

Robert Wade said he was initially ‘confused’ when Fleabag star was recruited to spruce up script

Phoebe Waller-Bridge‘s No Time to Die co-writer made a sexist dig at the Fleabag star that he later claimed was “a joke”.

The Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor and writer was brought in to spruce up the new film, offering “different alternatives” to several scenes that had been written by long-time Bond writers Wade and Neal Purvis.

Wade appeared on podcast James Bond Radio where The Mirror reports that he spoke about Waller-Bridge and her process of polishing the script.

“It’s like a relay race,” he said, adding: ”Phoebe did the bit where you get the prize at the end. For a woman, she is very witty.”

After the podcast’s host expressed shock at the comment, Wade stated: “It’s a joke.”

Wade later added that the long-standing debate about the Bond film series being misogynistic has “never worried” him.

He said: “There haven’t been many women involved [before] and, obviously, it’s a good thing for women to be involved.”

Wade admitted he was “confused” when Waller-Bridge was brought in, but that he didn’t take the decision personally.

“We went to New York to talk to Daniel [Craig] and he was on board for doing something kind of different,” he said.

“We spent a lot of time thrashing it out. It was slightly ­experimental and it felt like that’s what we needed to do.

“I’m not sure we fully pulled it off. But there was a certain amount of ­nervousness about it.”

Wade and Purvis’ Bond credits include Spectre, Skyfall, Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale, Die Another Day and The World Is Not Enough.

No Time to Die was set to be released in April, but had its release date pushed back to November in the wake of the coronavirus. The decision is set to cost MGM tens of millions.