Nobody did it better…

THE life of James Bond star Sir Roger Moore was celebrated with a private memorial service in Monte Carlo at the weekend.

Friends and family including Dame Joan Collins said their goodbyes to the longest-reigning 007, who died of cancer in Switzerland last month aged 89.

Dame Joan took to Twitter to post a photograph of herself holding a portrait of the late star – who played the iconic role seven times between 1973 and 1985 – alongside the message: “One last drink. Goodbye, dear Sir Roger Moore – beautiful and loving service for one of the great saints, knights and gents of our time.”

The actor’s three children, Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian, announced his death in a statement on social media on May 23. They said a private funeral would be held in Monaco in “accordance with our father’s wishes”.

Following the news, Sir Roger’s predecessors and successors as Bond offered tributes. Pierce Brosnan, who played the suave spy four times, said: “You were a big part of my life, a magnificent James Bond and one that led the way for me.”

Sir Sean Connery, the first actor to play the role on the big screen, said: “We had an unusually long relationship by Hollywood standards that was filled with jokes and laughter, I will miss him.”

While the current Bond – for the time being at least – Daniel Craig paid his respects by simply writing on the official 007 Twitter account: “Nobody Does It Better”, in reference to Carly Simon’s theme song from Sir Roger’s 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me.