In For Your Eyes Only he was a priest at a Greek wedding. In GoldenEye he was a member of the Russian Security Council. In Casino Royale he was a corrupt Montenegrin police chief.

Michael G Wilson's cameo appearances in every Bond film since 1977 have become part of 007 tradition and as producer it is the kind of perk of the job which is just good to turn down.

"It's started out as a joke," he says having recently completed his latest role as man reading newspaper in hotel lobby in Quantum of Solace. "Now it's become a tradition to the point where some people think it's to do with good luck."

Wilson has a quiet laid back air. Even after more than three decades in what he admits is one of the best jobs in the world he's not a man who's head is turned by celebrity or the inevitable hype which accompanies each new Bond instalment.

"Being producer of James Bond is as good as it seems. In fact it's better," he says, speaking ahead of a masterclass at this month's Bradford International Film Festival.

"There are a lot of other characters like Tarzan, Superman and Batman who have been reinvented over the years, but in terms of a single production entity then yes I guess James Bond is unique. But you know there has never been a moment when we've sat back and thought that's it, this will run and run. I don't even believe that now."

Wilson's lack of complacency is founded on good reason. Every time the company recasts Bond they know to expect trouble. Timothy Dalton was accused of being too bland. Piers Brosnan too smooth, but the worst venom was reserved for current 007 Daniel Craig. Wearing a luminous lifejacket during the unveiling ceremony he couldn't have looked less like Bond. Worst of all he was blond.

So far the majority of fans have been won over, but everyone who works behind the scenes knows there may come a day when the public are no longer open to persuasion.

"Every time we recast Bond the character ends up being reinvented," says Wilson, who first joined EON Productions in 1972, initially working in the legal department. "It comes with the territory. They are all leading men who are appropriate to a specific time and place and their interpretation inevitably takes the film in a different direction.

"Roger more was certainly a change from Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton was a departure from Roger. There was a sense when we cast Piers Brosnan that we were going back to the original vision and not everyone was happy about that.

"He may be a fictious character, but 007 has become a matter of public property and the public don't like people messing with their vision of what Bond should be. I sympathise with them. They are our public and we don't want to let them down.

"With Daniel he was pretty much an unknown in the role and I think people couldn't visualise how he was going to play it. He silenced the critics with his performance and now many think he's one of the best, if not the best Bond ever."

Second only to the nightmare of finding the next 007 is getting a script which both stays true to the spirit of the original 007 and which has sufficient twists to keep the public entertained. During the 1980s, Wilson collaborated five times with veteran screen writer Richard Maibaum and during a strike by the Writers Guild of America he was forced to finish the script for Licence to Kill alone.

"You can only write for so long and I knew my time would probably be better spent on other things," says the 66-year-old. "It's just about impossible to find someone who can take on a whole script individually so instead we have a team of writers which Barbara (Broccoli) and I supervise. At the moment the third Daniel Craig movie is not even a glimmer in its mother's eye. Filming Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace back to back took a lot out of time and energy so at the moment we are all just recharging our batteries."

A regular visitor to Yorkshire, Wilson, who is also a keen collector of photographs, has had a long association with the National Media Museum and recently agreed to chair of the organisation's board of directors.

"It's a great museum," he says. "It's stands for everything I love and the people of Yorkshire are just fantastic."

Ever the diplomat, Wilson also knows better than to admit he has a favourite Bond.

"Honestly I don't, but for each of the actors who have played 007 I do have a favourite film," he says. "In From Russia With Love and Goldfinger Sean really established the whole spy genre. George Lazenby may have only done one film, but On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the best Flemming story. The Spy Who Loved Me with Roger was the first one I properly worked on and I think it showed him at his best. Then there's Living Daylights for Timothy and GoldenEye was Piers' best.

"Daniel has yet to complete his time as Bond, but at the moment Casino Royale is my favourite of his so far."