In a scene voted the all-time favourite by James Bond fans, 007 is strapped to a table, a laser beam creeping towards his crotch. He asks his adversary: "Do you expect me to talk?"

Goldfinger exclaims: "No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die."

A poll of 2500 people in the homeland of Her Majesty's secret service were asked to name the best scene in a 007 film, with the sequence from 1964's Goldfinger emerging a clear winner with 10.3 per cent of votes.

On hearing the result, current Bond Daniel Craig acknowledged the scene "would take some beating".

The survey was conducted by Sky Movies HD at the end of 2012, a year which celebrated half a century of Bond films.