The name’s Pratt. Steve Pratt. My mission... to infiltrate a building in Whitehall and steal the briefing for 007’s latest film.

THE world of espionage is rife with rumours about James Bond’s next job for queen and country. Is he forsaking action for Oscars? Is it the last time Daniel Craig will have a licence to thrill? Will Bond have a beard? Are Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Javier Bardem involved with Bond 23, as the assignment has been labelled until now. Is Katie Price taking over from Judi Dench’s M as Bond’s new boss DD?

Okay, that last one is as fake as a glamour model’s breasts, but anything is possible in the world of 007. Who would have thought nearly 50 years ago when I went to see Dr No at the Odeon, in Watford, that come 2011 the Ian Fleming created hero would be preparing for his 50th I Spy anniversary next year.

But how anyone can call him a secret agent is beyond me. Secret? – hardly. Who doesn’t know that James Bond is a special agent. He might as well have the word SPY tattoed on his forehead.

And he’s going back into the field after a near fatal brush with the movie industry when delays over the sale of MGM, which “sponsors” the agent, caused producers to put Bond 23 on hold until the legal niceties were sorted out.

Getting into the hotel ballroom in Whitehall proves easy. I didn’t even need the photo ID they said we should bring (although I had my senior citizen bus pass at the ready, just in case).

The launch of Bond 23 came 50 years to the day that Sean Connery was announced as the first 007. The familiar James Bond theme plays over the speakers as cast, director and producers take the stage. For starters, producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli reveal “London’s worst kept secret” – the title of Bond 23. The word SKYFALL is projected above the 007 logo. At least it makes marginally more sense than Quantum Of Solace.

“It has all the elements of a Bond movie including – to quell any rumours – a lot of action and many other things too,” announces director Sam Mendes, whose childish enthusiasm and excitement at helming a Bond movie becomes apparent.

Despite the impressive cast (with a cartload of Academy Award nominations and wins to their credit), Mendes isn’t swapping action for Oscars, as some stories have suggested. Craig will still be doing his action man impression.

The newly-married (to actress Rachel Weisz) star has kept himself busy with other roles in between Bond appearances. He’s in, for instance, the US remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

He doesn’t worry about being typecast as Bond because he doesn’t think about it. “I’ve been lucky to get some nice roles thrown at me.

If I can do this for a few more years, I will be more than happy,” he says, the clearest indication yet that this will not be his final Bond.

What of his leading ladies, actresses that in less enlightened times were referred to as Bond girls? French actress Berenice Marlohe and Naomie Harris fill those roles in Skyfall.

Both have been in training. Harris has been doing stunt driving and firing machine guns, while Marlohe has learnt how to fire a gun for the first time (“I enjoy very much”). Neither, however, had practised climbing the stairs on to the platform while wearing skintight, anklelength dresses and Eiffel Tower height shoes.

Many questions are asked, many remain unanswered as no one involved in the movie wants to spoil the surprises in store when Skyfall opens in UK cinemas next year.

There are, it appears, a number of ways to say “No comment”. As director Mendes notes, “This is an odd press conference. There’s so little I can say. I can’t give much away. The movie will reveal everything and there are lots of surprises – I will say that.”

Marlohe plays “a glamorous enigmatic character”, a description you could apply to virtually any Bond woman. Harris plays a field agent. Dench is M once more, but gives us nothing at all, apart from saying she wants to get a grip on the character.

Precise Scottish locations aren’t confirmed, no one has been signed to write the theme song, and Craig didn’t find the delay in starting Bond 23 frustrating because there was nothing he could do about it.

This was a Question Time when no Bond stone was left unturned. Really important questions were asked, such as will Craig and Javier Bardem (the villain of the piece) be taking off their shirts. On screen, not at the press conference, I assume the questioner means.

Craig, you may recall, impressively filled a pair of swimming trunks in Casino Royale and Bond fans clearly demand a good quota of unclad action. “It’s the gig,” says Craig, smiling at the topless inquiry. “It should be keeping my shirt on we should be talking about.”

Skyfall starts filming on Monday and opens in October next year.

007 facts about Bond 23

001 The title is Skyfall and it’s not just a name plucked out of the air. “It has emotional context that will be revealed in the film,” says producer Barbara Broccoli.

002 The film will be shot in Whitehall in London, Shanghai, Istanbul, Scotland and Pinewood Studios.

003 The first James Bond film that director Sam Mendes saw as a schoolboy was Live And Let Die.

004 Despite hard economic times, the Skyfall budget is in the same range as previous Bond, Quantum Of Solace.

005 A documentary is among the plans to celebrate the Bond films’ 50th anniversary in 2012.

006 Dame Judi Dench is playing M for the seventh time and the story has her past coming back to haunt her.

007 Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Ben Wishaw were missing from the launch but have key roles in the film, although the makers haven’t revealed the names of their characters. Director Sam Mendes says Bond fans may recognise the names - or then again, they might not.