Maxwell was a regular in the Bond series for over 20 years

Maxwell starred alongside Sir Sean Connery in Bond's first movie outing, Dr No, in 1962.

She played the role until 1985's A View To A Kill with Sir Roger Moore, who told the BBC she had been a "great asset" to the early Bond movies.

A spokesperson for Fremantle Hospital, Western Australia, said she died there on Saturday evening.

I think it was a great disappointment to her that she had not been promoted to play M - she would have been a wonderful M Sir Roger Moore 007 star pays tribute

Maxwell starred in 14 Bond films as the secretary to M, the secret agent's boss and head of the secret service.

'Always fun'

She appeared in more movies than any of the actors who played the lead role in the spy series, including Sir Sean Connery and Sir Roger Moore.

Only Desmond Llewelyn, who played gadget man Q 17 times before his death in 1999, starred in more films.

"It's rather a shock," Sir Roger, who had known her since they were students at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) in 1944, told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"She was always fun and she was wonderful to be with."

"She was absolutely perfect casting," he said of her role as Miss Moneypenny.

"It was a great pity that, after I moved out of Bond, they didn't take her on to continue in the Timothy Dalton films.

HAVE YOUR SAY She will always be remembered as the best Miss Moneypenny Sheila Smith, Carmarthen Send us your comments

"I think it was a great disappointment to her that she had not been promoted to play M. She would have been a wonderful M."

Sir Roger said she had moved to Australia to be with her son after being diagnosed with cancer.

Born Lois Hooker in Ontario, Canada, in 1927, her acting career started in radio, before she moved to the UK with the Entertainment Corps of the Canadian army at the age of 15.

Golden Globe

In the late 1940s, she moved to Hollywood and picked up a best newcomer Golden Globe for her part in Shirley Temple comedy That Hagen Girl.

Lois Maxwell appeared in 14 Bond films from 1962 to 1985

After a spell working in Italy, she returned to the UK in the mid-1950s.

As well as her 14 outings as Miss Moneypenny, she also appeared in Stanley Kubrick's Lolita and worked on TV shows including The Saint, The Baron, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), The Persuaders! and Department S.

Aged 58 when she made her final Bond appearance, she was replaced by 26-year-old Caroline Bliss for The Living Daylights.

As well as her acting career, she also worked as a columnist for the Toronto Sun newspaper.