This week sees the return of James Bond to the silver screen in Quantum of Solace, the twenty second film in the long standing film franchise, which sees Daniel Craig reprise the role of 007 for the second time after the success of Casino Royale.

Over the years the actor in the role of James Bond has always been the centre point of the films however now Bond film is complete without a villain hell bent on causing a bit of chaos and in twenty two movies there have been some memorable ones.

So to celebrate the release of Quantum of Solace here at FemaleFirst we picked out our top Bond Villains.

1. Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Topping out chart is evil genius Ernst Stavro Blofeld who is the arch enemy of The British Secret Service and James Bond.

Blofeld appears or is heard in three novels: Thunderball, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and You Only Live Twice; and six official James Bond films: From Russia with Love (1963), Thunderball (1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and Diamonds Are Forever (1971) and his final appearance is the pre-title teaser of For Your Eyes Only (1981).

Head of the global criminal organised SPECTRE was played by four different actors, Eric Pohlmann, Donald Pleasance, Telly Savalas, and Charles Gray, and has become, with his trademark white Persian cat, grey collarless Nehru jacket, and large swivelling black armchair one of the most copied and parodied villains of all time.

2. Auric Goldfinger

'Do you expect me to talk?'' 'No, Mr Bond. I expect you to die' and with one line Auric Goldfinger cemented himself in Bond history and is the main antagonist in Sean Connery's James Bond film and in the novel Goldfinger.

In the film, Goldfinger is a gold smuggler and his scheme, code named Operation Grand Slam, is to break into the U.S Bullion Depository at Fort Knox and setting off a 'dirty' nuclear weapon which will contaminate the gold reserve of the United States, resulting in increased value of his own gold supply.

However Bond has different ideas and when 007 is kidnapped after thwarting Goldfinger's plan a struggle on a plane his golden pistol goes off shattering a window and Goldfinger and his henchman Oddjob are sucked out.

3. Dr. No

Dr. Julius No was the first villain that kicked off the franchise with Sean Connery and therefore holds a special place with long standing fans .

Played by Joseph Wiseman Dr. No is a brilliant scientist who specialising in radiation, an interest which cost him both hands which were replaced by metal ones. Offering his expertise to the Soviets and Americans he was rejected so he joined SPECTRE to get revenge.

No orders his henchmen to kill Bond when he begins to investigate the murders of two British agents. No is killed when both he and Bond fall onto a platform that descends into hot water while Bond escapes No is boiled to death.

4. Rosa Klebb

Rosa Klebb is the only woman to make the list and one of very few characters, up until recently, to avoid the ludicrous names that seemed to befall the female characters, such as Pussy Galore.

A member of the SPECTRE organisation Rosa is a remorseless killer played by Lotte Lenya in From Russia With Love. She is best remembered for attempting to kill James Bond with a pair of poison-tipped daggers concealed in her shoes.

5. Jaws

Jaws is one of very few characters to appear in more than one Bond movie first appearing in the 1977 film The Spy WHo Loved Me as a henchman to Karl Stromberg before appearing again in Moonraker working with Hugo Drax.

The 7 feet, 2 inch Jaws was incredibly strong and seemingly invincible who survived any misfortune that befell him, from being crushed beneath an ancient Egyptian monument, to being thrown from speeding trains and high clifftops. Oh and he has a set of steel teeth.

But his fearsome reputation all but disappeared in Moonraker when he fell in love Dolly and switches sides to help Bond defeat Drax.

In Quantum of Solace Bond must do battle with Dominic Greene, played by Mathieu Amalric, a member of the Quantum organisation posing as an environmentalist, who intends to stage a coup d'état in Bolivia to take control of its water supply.

Quantum of Solace is released 31st October

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw