James Bond actor Daniel Craig’s 250-year-old London pub he acquired with three pals is haunted by a Spectre

Published: 10:48 EDT, 9 October 2026 | Updated: 11:05 EDT, 9 October 2026

As James Bond, he went up against terrorists, double agents, and a parade of other criminal masterminds but now Daniel Craig can add a different foe to his list – a ghost in the pub he’s recently taken on.

The actor, 58, bought a 250-year-old pub called The Horseshoe in London’s Clerkenwell with three of his friends who’re big names in hospitality, but there’s another important member of the business’s team, in the form of ‘Gilbert’ the hangman’s ghost who’s haunted the cellar of the bar for decades.

Retiring landlady Pauline Tucker admitted that the spooky punter wasn’t mentioned to its new owners at the time of the sale, but they’ve been told all about his antics.

The name’s Bond: Daniel Craig’s become the co-owner of a 250-year-old haunted pub

The pub ghost was once a local hangman and he still lurked around down in the cellar, and former landlady Tucker said: ‘You don’t see him. You feel him.’

Daniel insisted he was not worried, though, and told The Times: ‘I don’t know what he drinks but we might have to leave a pint down there, “Here you are Gilbert”.’

The actor followed his parents and grandparents into the trade, who ran pubs in Cheshire, England.

Daniel said he spent his childhood in the family business, and recalled: ‘There were lock-ins and things, especially on New Year’s Eve. People used to party quite hard.

‘I grew up in pubs. You know the ups and downs of a pub. I know the good and the bad of it.

‘As a kid I’d get to go down and talk to the locals, especially at lunchtime, and it was always about the day, what’s going on. It’s an outlet for people to come and talk about stuff, maybe their problems.’

The pub’s new owners had plans to refurbish it, but Daniel cautioned they would not turn The Horseshoe into a modern gastropub.

Daniel played 007 between 2006 to 2021, but the role’s yet to be cast.

Amazon MGM Studios struck a deal to take full control of Ian Fleming’s iconic spy franchise last year, and it’s believed the next instalment’s said to be casting, with an announcement expected in autumn.

Ghostly goings-on: The Bond actor purchased the London business with a group of pals but they’ve been joined by a ghost in its cellar

Pub pro: The Knives out star said of his new venture, ‘I grew up in pubs, you know the ups and downs of a pub – I know the good and the bad of it’