HE’S 86 and these days the only gadgets this Bond might use are one of those armchairs with the lever to get you on your feet and a red cord in the bathroom – but the advanced years have robbed Roger Moore of none of his wit or charm.

He is disarmingly candid about what he’s doing on stage in Oxford on a Tuesday night when he could be sipping cocktails at home in Monaco. It’s all about earning some cash, soaking up a little admiration and flogging a few copies of his new book of Hollywood anecdotes, Last Man Standing.

Biographer Gareth Owen interviews him, gently teasing out stories and yanking him back on track when he goes off into a reverie about Lana Turner’s chest.

His tales range from a dreadful European film when he only discovered he hadn't been appointed a stunt double when another actor whacked him on the jaw during a fight scene to Tony Curtis smoking a joint outside Ten Downing Street while he was trying to direct him in an episode of The Persuaders!

Moore is endlessly self-deprecating, constantly putting his success down to dumb luck and his motivation to greed and lust.

Due to end at 9.40pm, Sir Roger is still rattling out anecdotes at 10.20, and showing no sign of tiring.
The latter portion of the evening is a Q&A with the audience, which provides the emotional high point of the evening when a question comes from Eric Allwright.

He is revealed as the man who did Moore’s make-up on four Bond films at Pinewood.

Moore is visibly moved at the reunion and the pair lament the fact they are indeed some of the last men of a golden age still standing.

He ends the night more passionate than at any point in the preceeding two hours when he talks about his work as a UNICEF ambassador. His finale is a monologue of a story once told to Audrey Hepburn, the woman who recruited him to UNICEF and told at her funeral.

It is all about using the gifts you were blessed with, treating others well and spreading a little joy where you can.

It could have been written especially for him. They don’t make them like him anymore.