Joss is named latest Bond girl

 

She first emerged as a teenage soul singer from Devon, who preferred going barefoot and wearing grungy clothes than dressing up for the red carpet.

But today Joss Stone emerged as a stunning, sleekly-styled young woman as she posed at the launch of the new James Bond video game, James Bond 007: Blood Stone.

The 23-year-old singer looked glamorous in the tight black dress embellished with diamantes and sky-high black heels as it was revealed she has been cast as femme fatale Nicole Hunter in the digital game.

From scruffy to sleek: Joss Stone looked worlds away from her former bedraggled appearance as she posed at a press launch today (right)

Stone said: 'I'm the first Bond girl from the West Country - instead of Martini in my glass I'm drinking cider and nobody will ever know.'

And the pierced singer also pointed out: 'I'm the first Bond girl with a nose ring.'

The Brit Award-winning artist has also penned an original song for the game with Eurythmics star Dave Stewart - swapping her R&B sound for something more 'Shirley Bassey', she said.

'Oh my God, Shirley Bassey rocks and nobody will ever get to there,' Stone said.

'She's really powerful but there's no ad-libbing or warbling because it wasn't needed. I was just inspired by her and I tried to sing it in a really straight, powerful way.

'But I haven't really got a big voice like Christina Aguilera or somebody, it's trickery, I'm just loud and I can fake it a little bit.'

Career comeback: Stone also penned a new song for the game, in the style of Shirley Bassey

Stone said she played her Bond girl a 'bit like a posh version of Paris Hilton.'

The game is not her first acting role. She has previously played 'the ugliest woman in Europe' -  Anne of Cleaves - in BBC2's The Tudors, so a Bond girl was an 'ego boost'.