20 Things You Didn’t Know About For Your Eyes Only (1981)
10. “M’s On Leave.”
Bernard Lee had not passed away by the time that production on For Your Eyes Only had started. Even though he was dying of stomach cancer, the regular M actor had tried to film at least one scene for the film, but the strain proved too much for him and he was forced to leave the production.
Lee subsequently passed away on 16 January 1981 and, as a mark of respect, Cubby Broccoli did not recast the role of M. Instead, M was said to be on leave and Desmond Llewelyn’s Q and Geoffrey Keen’s Minister of Defence, Sir Frederick Gray were given more scenes to take some of his roles. For example, Q met Double-0 Seven inside the confessional in Greece instead of M.
The remainder of Lee’s role was given to James Villiers, who became M’s Chief of Staff, Bill Tanner, after Cubby Broccoli and Roger Moore saw him performing in a play. Villiers became the second actor to portray Tanner in the franchise, taking over from Michael Goodliffe, who had played the role in The Man with the Golden Gun, before passing away in 1976.