James Bond would not be successful if he applied for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, an MI6 source says.
The organisation has launched a major recruitment campaign emphasising the need for sociable people from working class backgrounds.
It is expecting a major rise in applications in the weeks following the Spectre film, which paints the life of a spy in a very glamorous light.
But MI6 is at pains to make clear that the gun-wielding, martini-drinking, womanising loner is not the modern reality.
Instead it is stressing that the job requires emotional intelligence and a knack for strong working relationships with colleagues and foreign contacts.
