Dame Victoire “Paddy” Ridsdale once described Ian Fleming as “definitely James Bond in his mind”. Dame Victoire "Paddy" Ridsdale gång beskrevs Ian Fleming som "definitivt James Bond i hans sinne". Dame Paddy was definitely Miss Moneypenny — or at least a part of her. Dame Paddy var definitivt Miss Moneypenny - eller åtminstone en del av henne.

Fleming and Dame Paddy, then plain Paddy Bennett, were colleagues in the wartime Naval Intelligence Department: he was assistant to the Chief of Naval Intelligence; she was a secretary, and a most formidable one, with at least some of the characteristics associated with Fleming's second-most beloved creation. Fleming och Dame Paddy, sedan vanligt Paddy Bennett, var kolleger i krigstid Naval Intelligence Institution: han var assistent till Chief of Naval Intelligence, hon var en sekreterare och en mest fruktansvärda en, med åtminstone några av de egenskaper som förknippas med Flemings näst mest älskade skapelse.

Dame Paddy did nothing to dampen speculation that she had been a model for Moneypenny, although there are other contenders. 

In the books, Miss Moneypenny, M's secretary, smoulders with unrequited love for 007. I böckerna, Miss Moneypenny, M: s sekreterare, smoulders med obesvarad kärlek för 007. In Thunderball, we learn that she “often dreamed hopelessly about Bond”. I Thunderball, får vi veta att hon "ofta drömt hopplöst om Bond". Dame Paddy was a friend but denied harbouring amorous feelings for Fleming. Dame Paddy var en vän men nekade hysande amorösa känslor för Fleming. She insisted that she was “never taken in by his charm”. Hon insisterade på att hon var "aldrig luras av sin charm". “He'd go off and do something brave and come back with silk stockings and lipsticks for me,” she told People magazine in 1998. "Han skulle gå ut och göra något modig och kom tillbaka med silkesstrumpor och läppstift för mig, säger hon till People Magazine 1998. “I always kept him at arm's length.” "Jag höll alltid honom på avstånd."

Another possible inspiration for the Moneypenny character was Kathleen Pettigrew, personal assistant to Stewart Menzies, the head of MI6, known as C. En annan möjlig inspirationskälla för Moneypenny karaktär var Kathleen Pettigrew, personlig assistent till Stewart Menzies, chefen för MI6, känd som C. Anyone attempting to gain access to C had to get past Miss Pettigrew, who was described by one colleague as a “formidable, grey-haired lady with the square jaw of the battleship type”. Som försöker att få tillgång till C var att komma förbi Miss Pettigrew, som beskrevs av en kollega som en "fruktansvärd, gråhårig dam med kvadraten käken av slagskeppet typ".

A third contender is Vera Atkins, executive officer with the French section of the Special Operations Executive set up by Churchill to “set Europe ablaze” with clandestine operations behind enemy lines. En tredje debutant är Vera Atkins, verkställande direktör med den franska delen av Special Operations Executive inrättats av Churchill att "sätta Europa i brand" med hemliga operationer bakom fiendens linjer. Fleming knew Atkins, who trained and handled more than 400 agents, through his intelligence work. Fleming visste Atkins, som tränade och hanteras mer än 400 anställda, genom sin intelligens arbete.

Another possible inspiration is Margaret Priestley, who helped to run 30 Commando Assault Unit, an intelligence commando squad set up by Fleming which he referred to as his “Red Indians”. En annan möjlig inspiration är Margaret Priestley, som hjälpte till att köra 30 Commando Assault Unit, en intelligens commando trupp som inrättats av Fleming, som han kallade sin "Red Indians".

The name Moneypenny came from an unfinished novel by Peter Fleming, Ian's brother, entitled The Sett. The elder Fleming gave up after 30,000 words, and his brother simply appropriated the name. Namnet Moneypenny kom från en oavslutad roman av Peter Fleming, Ian bror, med titeln The Inst.guiden. Den äldre Fleming gav upp efter 30.000 ord, och hans bror helt enkelt beslag på namnet.

Miss Moneypenny became a staple of the Bond films but in the novels she is a fleeting figure: a non-smoking, milk-drinking poodle-owner, who “would have been desirable but for eyes which were cool and direct and quizzical”. Miss Moneypenny blev en krampa av Bond-filmer, men i de romaner hon är en flyktig siffra: en icke-rökare, mjölk-drickande poodle-ägare, som "skulle ha varit önskvärd men för ögonen som var kall och direkt och frågande".

In the novels, Bond has his own secretary, Loelia Ponsonby, “tall and dark, with a reserved unbroken beauty” but also “a cool air of authority that might easily become spinsterish”. I romanerna har Bond sin egen sekreterare, Loelia Ponsonby, "lång och mörk, med en reserverad obruten skönhet" utan också "en sval luft av myndighet som lätt kan bli spinsterish". The real Loelia Ponsonby was a friend of Fleming's, who later became Duchess of Westminster. Den verkliga Loelia Ponsonby var en vän till Flemings, som senare blev hertiginna av Westminster.

In reality, the Naval Intelligence Department contained a number of extremely attractive women. I själva verket innehöll Naval Intelligence Department ett antal mycket attraktiva kvinnor. The head of Naval Intelligence, Admiral John Godfrey, who was the model for M, deliberately recruited attractive women in the peculiar belief that they were less likely to want to impress men, and therefore less likely to spill intelligence secrets. Chefen för Naval Intelligence, amiral John Godfrey, som var förebilden för M, medvetet rekryterats attraktiva kvinnor i den egendomliga tron att de var mindre benägna att vilja imponera män, och därför mindre troligt att spilla intelligens hemligheter.