Patricia Fearing is a character in the James Bond novel Thunderball. For the 1965 film of the same name she went by the nickname ‘Pat’ and was portrayed by Molly Peters. Fearing is a shapely, blonde, brown-eyed nurse who looks over James Bond while he is a guest at the Shrublands’ health farm.

Molly Peters as Patricia Fearing in ‘Thunderball’.

Biography: In both the novel and the film, Patricia Fearing is a nurse at the Shrublands heath farm and is tasked with specifically looking after James Bond while he is a guest. At one point she sets Bond up with the traction table and leaves him for a few moments. However, during her time away, Bond is attacked by Count Lippe who turns up the power on the traction table in an attempt to kill him. He is ultimately saved by Fearing when she returns.

After the incident Fearing and her manager, Mr Wain, believe that Bond had accidentally bumped a switch causing the traction table to speed up. She pleads with Bond to remain silent on Mr Wain’s behalf feeling that it would damage their reputation if the other patients got word of the incident. Bond seduces her and makes love to her in her car after he is discharged from Shrublands. Her body is one of three things Bond has built up an appetite for – the other two being spaghetti Bolognese and Chianti. He manages to have all three in quick succession.

In the film, Fearing had previously rejected Bond’s advances but, after the incident, pleads with him not to complain about it, as she would be fired by her manager. Bond responds that he will remain silent for a price and immediately drags her off to the steam room, where they undress and make love. Fearing is not unwilling, and that night they share a room together.

There is a later scene in the novel which Bond receives a massage from Fearing using mink gloves. This is changed in the film and has Bond giving a mostly disrobed Fearing a massage with the mink glove, saying that mink “reduces the tension.” Fearing responds, “Not mine.”

See also:

• Bond girls