Sir Roger Moore, 79, was born in Stockwell, London, the son of a policeman. He is best known for playing James Bond in seven films. Roger has three children by his third wife, actress Luisa Mattioli - actress Deborah, 43, restaurateur Geoffrey, 41, and businessman Christian, 34. He now lives with his fourth wife, Christina Tholstrup, between his two homes in Monaco and Switzerland.

When did you realise you were famous?

I suppose the peak of my career came playing James Bond, which was the best job in the world. It was hard work with all the travelling and putting up with long periods of tedium on set, but I earned a lot of money doing it and it was not particularly taxing from the acting point of view. Eventually I reached nearly grandfather age and it became impossible to find Bond villains older than myself, so I retired.

Did you have to change your life when you became a celebrity?

No, not really – it was more of a gradual thing having had already some success on TV with The Saint and The Persuaders. My general philosophy on life has always been optimism, because if you're a pessimist you're going nowhere, and that didn't change. I think charm, a pleasing personality and a willingness to listen to people takes you a long way in life. Ever since I was a kid I knew I wanted to be remembered with the saying, 'He never trod on anybody's toes'.

What makes you angry?

Intolerance. I get very cross when people don't show respect for others, and particularly when I see children suffer. That's why I have been working as a UNICEF ambassador for the last 16 years.

It has been a rewarding experience and it has taken me all across Africa, Australia, South-east Asia, the Far East and South America. I've learned a great deal about the inhumanity of man. When I was poncing around the world playing James Bond, my priorities were much more selfish - would my jacket be pressed and what's for lunch? Working with UNICEF has made me a lot less focused on my own problems.

Who is your role model?

I've always rather admired the Duke of Wellington – it seemed to me he had a terrific attitude. The story goes that one day a young ensign was 15 minutes late for an appointment and Wellington told him off saying, 'Do you know who I am?

I'm Chief of the Imperial General Staff, which means next to the King I'm the most important man in England and you've just wasted 15 minutes of my time!' So the next time the ensign had an appointment with Wellington he arrived 15 minutes early, only to find that Wellington told him off again: 'Now you're a bigger bloody fool because you've just wasted 15 minutes of your own time!' Whenever I'm late on a film set I tell the production crew that story and they say, 'What did he mean by that?'

What would it surprise us to know about you?

I have a recurring nightmare: I'm in a show and I haven't had a rehearsal and nobody will show me the script, but the curtain is going up. It's terrible, terrifying in fact. I never thought I was much of an actor anyway - my acting range has always been something between the two extremes of 'raises left eyebrow' and 'raises right eyebrow'.

What is your idea of heaven?

I love to relax in the winter skiing and in the summer swimming in the sea with family. Particularly with my grandchildren. Home is the best holiday you can have - work takes us away all the time so I always think I come home to rest. We have a chalet in Gstaad, Switzerland, and a home near the beach in Monaco. It sounds glamorous, but it's not necessarily. Michael Caine and a mate once decided, 'Let's call Rog in Switzerland and see what he's up to.' When I answered I said, 'I'm sitting here eating baked beans, watching a video of Dad's Army.'

What single thing would improve the quality of your life?

Having better health. All those years of being thrown around doing my own stunts eventually took their toll on me. My spine is not so good and since knee surgery I can't jump around the tennis court any more. I've also had to have a pacemaker fitted. It's a bugger, not to put too fine a point on it. When I was knighted my one fear was that I wouldn't be able to get up after I'd knelt down. I toyed with the idea of getting a choreographer in, but in the end I was all right.

Do you believe in God?

I'm not a regular churchgoer but I believe in a divine intelligence. There has to be some giant brain behind all this and I think we're part of it. Our purpose in life is to gather intelligence and to use that wisdom. If everybody lived like that, we wouldn't have all this damn war and damn hunger.

What do you want for your three children?

To me the most important thing is that they are healthy and happy. I hope they enjoyed their childhood and that I was a good father. My mother was very strict with me about the way I spoke. I'd get a quick clip around the ear for 'Ain't' and manners were most important - almost as close to godliness as cleanliness. I've always thought people who have a contented childhood will usually make their way in life and find out what they really want to do.

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