First look: Dominic Cooper is dashing as 007 author as he romances Lara Pulver in first Fleming stills
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It was a romance which survived numerous affairs and marriages to other people.
And in the forthcoming mini series Fleming, it looks like James Bond author Ian Fleming's long love affair and eventual marriage with Ann Charteris will be a main focus.
In the first still from the new series, actor Dominic Cooper and Lara Pulver show their on-screen chemistry as Ian and Ann as they fell in love during World War II.
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Passionate: Dominic Cooper as Ian Fleming and Lara Pulver as Ann Charteris in new TV series Fleming
Filming on the Sky Atlantic series has only just started, but producers have given viewers a little sneak peek at what to expect with the stills and a short teaser trailer.
Dominic, 35, looks dapper in his Naval uniform as he plays Fleming during his time in the Royal Navy, where he served during the war.
Sherlock star Lara plays Ann, who first fell for Ian in 1939 when she was married to Baron O'Neill.
When she was left widowed by the death of O'Neill in the war, she was expected to marry Ian, but he decided to remain single.
Infidelity: Ian had an affair with Ann when she married to another man - and they ended up both cheating while later married to each other
Lothario: Ian was renowned for his colourful lovelife - which no doubt inspired Bond's womanising
In 1945 she tied the knot with Esmond Harmsworth, the heir to Lord Rothermere, owner of the Daily Mail - who she had also been having an affair with during the war.
Despite her marriage, the couple continued their romance, with Ann giving birth to Ian's stillborn daughter in 1948.
Viscount Rothermere divorced Ann in 1951 due to her affair with Ian, with her eventually marrying the latter in Jamaica the following year.
War effort: Dominic was spotted filming scenes in London's Belgravia on Sunday in his Naval uniform
Period drama: Dominic has been spotted filming the World War II-era scenes over the past week
The couple remained married until Ian's death of a heart attack in 1961, despite having numerous affairs with other people.
The mini-series is believed to draw on the couple's sexually explicit letters to each other, in which they discussed their obsession with kinky behaviour such as flagellation.
The TV series will also explore Ian’s complex relationship with his mother Evelyn St Croix Rose - who once forced him to break off an engagement because she disliked his fiancée - and with other women in his life.
Looking the part: A hairdresser fixes Dominic's hair on location
An executive involved with the production said: 'It tells the story of how Fleming desperately wanted to be someone he couldn’t be, so he created the person he wanted to be on the page and that person was James Bond.'
The series will start in the late 1920s, when Ian failed as a stockbroker, but managed to transform himself into a lothario.
The short teaser trailer sees Dominic walks through the shadows holding a gun, with the words: 'Playboy, gambler, spy' across the screen.
The four-part series which is due to air on Sky Atlantic in the autumn.
For King and country: The short trailer sees Dominic as Ian walking through the shadows with a gun
Love and marriage: Ian Fleming and his wife Ann in 1963 - a year before his death
Love and marriage: Ian Fleming and his wife Ann in 1963 - a year before his death
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2358259/Dominic-Cooper-dashing-007-author-romances-Lara-Pulver-Fleming-stills.html#ixzz2YTtKBnLe
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