Will Gillian Anderson be the first female James Bond?

The name's Bond, Jane Bond.

Gillian Anderson has set tongues wagging on social media with a Twitter post which suggested she might be in line to be the next 007.

The X-files star was responding to a growing campaign among fans for her to be the next James Bond, ahead of other favourites including Tom Hiddleston, Damian Lewis and Idris Elba.

Ms Anderson thanked everyone for their votes and tweeted a mock up poster of her as the iconic British spy, created by a fan, which has since been retweeted more than 11,000 times and liked by over 23,000 people.

The responses to the possible casting were overwhelmingly positive with hundreds of messages of support for the first female version of the classic character.

The current James Bond actor, Daniel Craig, is yet to announce whether he is definitely leaving the role, but it was reported last week that he has turned down £68m to make two new 007 films.

If Craig does step aside, Hiddleston is the favourite to become the new Bond after he was recently spotted meeting the film franchise's producer and director Sam Mendes.

Another person who has expressed an interest in the role is Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton who recently struck a pose on Instagram to show his Bond potential.