Video: When Roger Moore met Formula One

Before he was the legend that is James Bond, Roger Moore was TV’s Simon Templar, alternatively known as “The Saint”.By Andy Hallbery

The 1960s British TV show The Saint was – and is still is – a cult hit. Roger Moore, playing the suave Simon Templar was as cool as he ever has been. As an audition for him to be James Bond, there could have been no better platform. The swash-buckling guy who barely broke a sweat, trendily dressed, ‘The Saint’ solved every crime thrown at him. He was Mr Fix-it, in a woolen polo neck, driving a white Jaguar.

In 1966 he was assigned to find a potential assassin at Brands Hatch, and of course ran some laps in the Formula One car himself – as any crime-fighting hero would. The filmology is basic, to say the least, but at a time when racing-inspired films like Grand Prix and Le Mans were being conceived, it was a start.

Enjoy the stick man with the halo!

So what’s your favourite racing film?

Follow @MotosportRetro and @Hallbean on Twitter and join in on the discussion on Facebook