If you thought Judi Dench’s “M” was powerful, just wait—this is real life. MI6 won’t ever hand out secrets, but one thing’s clear: they’re evolving fast.

Years after Judi Dench played James Bond's boss on the big screen, a woman will soon lead the real MI6, Britain's foreign intelligence service, for the first time. I spy NPR's Lauren Frayer in London.

It's a case of real life catching up with James Bond fiction: Britain's MI6 spy agency named its first-ever female chief. She used to be Q. Now she'll be C.

It's a case of real life catching up with James Bond fiction: Britain's MI6 spy agency named its first-ever female chief. She used to be Q. Now she'll be C.

And for the first time in the agency's 116-year history, the MI6 chief — codename C — will be a woman. It's a milestone that's already happened on the silver screen, when Judi Dench played the MI6 ...

It's a case of real life catching up with James Bond fiction: Britain's MI6 spy agency named its first-ever female chief. She used to be Q. Now she'll be C.