# Was there a new M to reflect the real M (or head of MI6) in James Bond?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-new-m-to-reflect-the-real-m-or-head-of-mi6-in-james-bond/254577>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 11, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-new-m-to-reflect-the-real-m-or-head-of-mi6-in-james-bond/254577 "2004-07-11T17:13:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-new-m-to-reflect-the-real-m-or-head-of-mi6-in-james-bond/254577/1 "2004-07-11T17:13:03Z")

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Today I saw the real head of MI6 on tv (interview clip about wmd affair) and she dressed and looked a bit like the M character (Judi Dench) in the last 4 bond films.

So, was the character based on the ‘new’ real head of MI6 at the time?

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-new-m-to-reflect-the-real-m-or-head-of-mi6-in-james-bond/254577/2 "2004-07-11T18:20:15Z")

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> [@Lobsang](#):
>
> So, was the character based on the ‘new’ real head of MI6 at the time?

IIRC, they do try to keep “M” updated, yes.