Dr. No (novel) No" was serialised in the "Daily Express", first in an abridged story form and later as a comic strip. The story was adapted in 1962 as the first film in the Bond series, with Sean Connery in the lead role; in 2008 BBC Radio 4 broadcast a version, with Toby Stephens as Bond. After recovering from serious poisoning inflicted by the SMERSH agent Rosa Klebb (in "From Russia, with Love") the MI6 agent James Bond is sent by his superior, M, on an undemanding mission to the British Colony of Jamaica. He is instructed to investigate the disappearance of Commander
James Bond greatest film hero. He was also placed at number 11 on a similar list by "Empire" and as the fifth greatest movie character of all time by "Premiere". The 23 James Bond films produced by Eon Productions, which have grossed $4,910 million in box office returns alone, have made the series one of the highest-grossing ever. It is estimated that since "Dr. No", a quarter of the world's population have seen at least one Bond film. The UK Film Distributors' Association have stated that the importance of the Bond series of films to the British film industry cannot be overstated,