A new exhibition of rare behind-the-scenes shots of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and their James Bond colleagues while they were making the films is set to open in Iconic Images Gallery in Chelsea.

It’ll run from 26 March to 30 April, and it’s to mark the release of Bond: Photographed by Terry O’Neill, The Definitive Collection, a book of photos shot over the 1960s and 70s, from Goldfinger to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. It would have been Dr No too, because O’Neill shot behind the scenes there too, but, erm, O’Neill isn’t quite sure where they’re at.

“I photographed the first Bond film, but I’ve lost all the pictures,” O’Neill recalls. “When we started, we all thought it was going to be a one or two film thing. We never dared to think it was going to turn into this huge franchise. What’s great about it, and I think it’s the real secret to why it’s been so successful for so many years, is that with each decade, each James Bond, they have really kept up with the times. Sean Connery in the 1960s was cool and classic; he really fits that decade. Roger Moore in the 1970s added more humour; very Cary Grant. In the 1990s, Pierce Brosnan came aboard and added a real style. Then Daniel Craig – he’s the perfect modern Bond.”

A slightly cutting silence on Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby’s tenures there, but there we go. Fancy some more pictures from the exhibition? Of course you do.

Photo credit: Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images

Photo credit: Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images

Photo credit: Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images

Photo credit: Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images

Photo credit: Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images

Photo credit: Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images

Photo credit: Terry O’Neill/Iconic Images