My Day Off 2 | Spying On 007

Imagine my surprise at the day’s events.

It was a hot, sunny afternoon in late August 2019 when I visited the Parco Regionale della Murgia Materana, a public park with panoramic views of the historic city of Matera.

My family and I had moved to spend a year (two, as it turns out, due to COVID-19) living in the south of Italy, the home of my wife, Anna.? We’d got married in the area several years earlier and I was at a loose end, bunking off for an hour in the stifling heat to return to the hills opposite Matera, where we’d had our wedding-day photoshoot, to enjoy once more the stunning view of Matera beyond the famous gaping canyon.

I parked close to the obligatory tourist café at the top of the hill and made towards the ravine to get the best view. Unexpectedly, as I walked, I heard the unmistakeable sound of a British voice on a megaphone wafting across from over the ravine: “Here we go. Roll camera. 3,2,1... Action!”

They’re making a film, I thought, and I quickened my pace in curiosity. Perching high up on the side of the hill, I pulled out my smartphone and zoomed in on Matera. I froze... I couldn’t believe my eyes. I could see a fleet of shiny DB5s. I‘d stumbled on the making of the new James Bond film!

There was the sound of engines revving loudly in anticipation. I scoured the landscape opposite to work out what was going on and, as I did so, an exciting car chase began, the distinctive vehicles shooting away right front of me. This scene turned out to be the sequence early in No Time to Die , where 007 and Madeleine race through the cobbled streets in Bond’s iconic Aston Martin whilst being hotly pursued by a henchman on a motorbike and other bad guys.

I sat enthralled. The director called “Cut!” and reset the scene. Take after take in the blazing heat followed as I observed, fascinated, and filmed my amateur videos. When the shoot finally wrapped up, I returned to my car and headed to the centre of town.

Seeking customary refreshment, I swept into a familiar bar and ordered a cold one. Amongst the chatter of locals and other tourists, I heard more than the usual smattering of British voices – the film crew unwinding. I chatted ?to a few of them but clearly they’d been sworn to secrecy and wouldn’t even disclose that Yes, they were working on the new Bond film. (And No, they couldn’t tell me anything, otherwise they’d have to kill me.)

I did, however, glean that in the coming days the crew would be going to neighbouring regions for more filming (Gravina in Puglia for the bridge-jumping scene, even though it’s made to look as though it’s located in Matera; and Sapri, for the train station scene), and were due to return to Matera a few weeks later.

Prompted by local media reports, I checked out the Ponte Acquedotto, a Roman bridge in Gravina, where Bond cheats certain death by leaping spectacularly over the edge. Through some bizarre turn of events, I ended up being invited and shown around the nearby hotel – including the room that Daniel Craig stayed in – by the proud proprietors. Perhaps they overheard my English accent!

Meanwhile, back in Matera, Eon were building a fake, elevated hotel room at Belvedere di?Piazza Giovanni Pascoli with spectacular views of the ancient Sassi. Together with the other gawpers, I saw this construction take shape each advancing day. I became a daily visitor, following progress keenly. And then the main film crew was back. One day, I counted up to 10 instantly-recognisable silver birch Aston Martin DB5s in various states of distress, including an adapted vehicle which had an extra seat and steering wheel mounted on the roof.

Access to 'hero scenes' being filmed was blocked but everyone nearby could certainly hear the loud crack of gun fire, particularly the sequence in Piazza San?Giovanni (nicknamed ‘Donut Square’ by the film crew), where Bond and Madeleine have been cornered and break free in a 360-degree shooting spree with the help of the DB5’s front-mounted rotating guns and rear-mounted smoke machine.

When they were on a break, I chatted to members of the crew, who showed me the explosive charges concealed in the faux exterior wall of the church. Having witnessed the pain-staking attention to detail with which it was set up off-camera, watching the scene unfold on the big screen when the movie was finally released was all the more amazing. I truly never thought for a moment that I’d get this close to a James Bond film being made.

By way of coda, three years later I went to a 007 charity auction at Christie’s in London, which was attended by members past and present of the Bond family, including Barbara Broccoli and Michael G Wilson. Whilst there, I got the chance to meet Dali Bensallah, the NTTD henchman with the prosthetic left eye, and talk at length with Paul Edmondson, the stuntman who doubled on both Dali and Daniel Craig’s more challenging motorbike scenes. They were both real gents – very approachable and delighted to talk about their time working on the film.

Having been a Bond fan for many years, treasured experiences like this are truly priceless. A few years before, in an unexpected twist of fate, I became a regular coffee buddy of Lewis Gilbert (director of The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker) but that’s a tale for another day...

A version of this article appears in 'Keeping the British End Up' 2024, the magazine of 007GB , the UK James Bond Fan Club.

See also: For Your Eyes Only | 007 in the Caribbean

See also: My Day Off | Rolling with the Stones video