Updated

Twenty-one installments and 46 years after his first dashing introduction, people — British people — are starting to disclose their previously private belief that "James Bond" is bad, or even "loathsome."

The British Broadcasting Corporation's online magazine asked Tuesday if it's OK to hate the spy who snagged creator Ian Fleming fame, fortune and a place in British history.

To some, it’s because the multi-billion dollar Bond franchise — the second-longest running and franchise ever — "Never Dies."

To others, it’s that the leading female characters, with names like Miss Moneypenny and Mary Goodnights, are "For Your Eyes Only."

Click here for photos of James Bond through the ages.

But all share a national secret of which film critics and adolescent boys the world over are, according to the BBC, unaware: It’s OK to hate James Bond.

Despite the skeptics and the “Dr. Evil” parodies, though, 007 is back for a 22nd round. Fans who made it second-most successful film series haven’t shed a quantum of enthusiasm for everyone’s favorite agent: Bond, James Bond.

Click here to read more from BBC.com.