Irish actor Andrew Scott is to star in the new James Bond film, Spectre.

Details of Spectre were announced on Thursday at Pinewood Studios, outside London.

Scott (38), will play the character of Denbigh - one of Bond’s Whitehall bosses - in the new film. He won’t be playing a villain, as many had initially expected.

Scott is best known for his role as Moriarty in Sherlock.

He also played the lead role in the successful Irish comedy The Stag and in Garage as a priest.

The new film will be shot in Pinewood Studios, Morocco, Mexico City and Austria.

Once again Ireland is not included as a location, though Bond writer John Logan has been based in Ireland for several months, involved in making the gothic horror series Penny Dreadful.

Spectre refers to a fictional terrorist organisation from the James Bond books and films.

It stands for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. It first surfaced in Ian Fleming’s novel Thunderball.

A cryptic message from an unlikely source sets James Bond, played again by Daniel Craig, navigating the layers of a sinister organisation confronting Spectre.

The film is due to be released in November 2015 in the United States.

Oscar-winning Austrian actor Christoph Waltz will play a villain in the release. Lea Seydoux and Monica Bellucci will become Bond girls.

The film will be directed by Sam Mendes, who also directed its predecessor Skyfall - which was both a critical and commercial success for film’s longest-running franchise.

“He’s the only guy for the job. He did a great job on Skyfall. He was the obvious choice,” Mendes said.