He saved my life as my bikini began to burn

BRITT EKLAND: The Man With The Golden Gun (Mary Goodnight) 1974

THERE were many reasons to adore Roger. He was such fun; he was very tall and very handsome; he was a kind, class act who made filming a joy.

But more than that, he literally saved my life. We were shooting the scene where we were escaping from [the villain] Scaramanga’s island with a series of controlled explosions and pyrotechnics. It was a burning hell. We walked through the scene in rehearsal several times and each explosion was timed precisely.

I was in a bikini, of course, and wearing wedge heels which made it tough to run. When the cameras started rolling, I was too slow and one explosion went off right under my bottom and singed my bikini.

My instinct was to cover my face and roll down to the floor, and if you watch the movie you can see me start to go down. Roger grabbed my hand and pulled me up to safety and carried me along to finish the scene unscathed. Another actor might have told me off or made some sort of comment, but Roger never mentioned it again. He was always ready with a hug and a kind word. We stayed good friends for more than four decades. The fact he was married to Kristina Tholstrup [fourth wife], a Swede like me, showed what taste he had. We last met four years ago in Paris. It was raining like crazy. We went to a wonderful hotel off the Champs-Elysees, drank champagne and laughed. He told the most wonderful jokes but they were never crude. His friendship is one I shall always cherish. He was ‘my’ Bond but he was the world’s Bond. He will for ever be remembered in the movies. And I will carry him in my heart for ever.