Super spy James Bond is the latest fictional character to grace the British stamp.

The Royal Mail has issued commemorative stamps featuring the front covers of six Bond books to mark the centenary of the birth of its creator Ian Fleming.

The launch of the stamps took place opposite the real MI6 headquarters by the River Thames.

Actress Samantha Bond, who played Miss Moneypenny in a number of Bond films, posed with an Aston Martin DB6 - the spy's preferred car - holding up the stamps for photographers.

She said: "I think James Bond's following is so huge that actually a James Bond First Day Cover will be a collectors' item."

And the Royal Mail has already received interest from collectors around the world.

Julietta Edgar, Royal Mail's head of special stamps explained the huge excitement surrounding the stamps, saying: "It's just the excitement, the adventure, the glamour."

The new designs are available to buy now in post offices and online.

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