The creator of Luther: The Fallen Sun has revealed that he couldn’t resist a playful snipe at James Bond amid continued speculation linking Idris Elba to Ian Fleming’s iconic character.

Netflix’s big-screen treatment of the BBC detective series features Elba’s John Luther cheekily refusing a martini, famously Bond’s cocktail of choice.

Neil Cross told the Radio Times that the moment was “an extended middle finger and a wink” at 007 because Luther is better.

Elba told the magazine that Luther: The Fallen Sun was not a stepping stone to playing the British spy, as Barbara Broccoli hunts for Daniel Craig’s successor.

“My Bond audition? Oh my God, no! I’ve been saying for years, no,” he said, adding: “The martini line is a bit cheeky, isn’t it? I was like, ‘Neil, are you sure you want to put that in?’”

Asked if he agreed with Cross’ argument that Luther is better than Bond, Elba said: “Luther’s equally engaging, equally sexy and great to see visually. But Bond is from a universe where espionage was the way to capture. Luther is from the world where you bang on the door, ‘Are you in there? I’m coming in.’”