A gentleman still saving the world

Sir Roger Moore, the legendary James Bond and Simon Templar, was in Malta for four days last week to shoot two documentaries - an untitled Biblical documentary on the shipwreck of St Paul, and Laura MacKenzie's Traveller, to be screened on 170 channels across the US later this year. It will be released on DVD around February 2007.

At 79, Sir Roger still has the Bond look and sports the same cool accent, but the two documentaries have none of the high action drama he was well-known for as 007.

Filming was under way when I arrived and it was hard to find a suitable slot to speak to him. But in spite of the constantly hovering producer, Sir Roger was as ever the polite gentleman and spared some of his precious time.

Many will remember Sir Roger when he starred in Shout at the Devil (1976), which was shot in Malta.

"Since my last visit here, one of the things that struck me most is the restaurants and five-star hotels. The food has become much better," Sir Roger remarked. "Also, we get a considerable amount of help from the locals while filming and the climate is perfect."

"Malta has so many advantages when it comes to choosing a film location, comparing well with other countries like Italy, particularly Rome and also the Amalfi coast. We were recently given the chance to use St Peter's Basilica for filming. Sydney is also popular for filming," executive producer Paul Sharratt said. "We require footage from the time of the Knights, so Senglea was ideal for filming. St Paul's Islands and the Mellieha Sanctuary will also be used."

Sir Roger's roles may be less action-packed but his private life is still very active. He spends his winters in Switzerland's chic resorts and loves to ski in his free time. He spends many weekends in Gstaad, in the company of many other high profile personalities.

He is deeply involved with UNICEF, raising funds for children in underdeveloped countries. When asked who had inspired him to take on the UNICEF role, Sir Roger immediately replied: "Audrey Hepburn. She was a great friend of mine."

In June 2003, he was knighted for his sterling work for the charity.

Sir Roger shot to fame playing Leslie Charteris' Simon Templar in The Saint. Asked whom he preferred playing, Bond or Templar, he replied: "Well, I looked the same, sounded the same, they were just two different characters."

Have the latest Bond films have kept the Bond touch?

"Well, the new Bond is a hell of a good actor; he's doing a great job," Sir Roger replied.

The Malta Tourism Authority's history and culture section are assisting in both documentaries.