Sir Roger Moore - my wild days with Dorothy Squires

In front of the camera, Bond legend Roger Moore was always the epitome of charm, sophistication and class - reports WalesOnline.

But off-screen, the former 007’s life with fiery Welsh singing diva Dorothy Squires left him both shaken and stirred – and in need of a few stiff martinis.

And in his new tell-all autobiography the English gentleman reveals that living with the Llanelli-born vocalist was far from domestic bliss.

“After a hard day’s shoot, I went home tired and hungry, only to be told that dinner was going to be late,” he says. “I replied with something like, ‘What do you mean late? I’ve got to be up early in the morning!’

“The Welsh firebrand looked at me furiously. ‘Don’t you come your f****** King Henri with me!’ she snapped.”

The book also reveals that as the singer he affectionately called Dot grew into her mega-star status as a major recording artist, she acquired more than her fair share of celebrity fans – including then rising star Elvis Presley.

“He came backstage and, being very nervous, introduced himself to me – as though I didn’t know who he was,” added Moore.

“Elvis told Dot how much he admired her and hoped he might have a little of the success she had achieved. If only he knew!”

The star also lifts the lid on how things at home took a turn for the worse when he began an illicit affair with Italian model Luisa Mattioli, which would eventually end his 16-year marriage to Dot.

In fact, even after Dot had discovered the affair, the feisty Welsh songbird long refused to grant him a divorce. She even threatened to sue ITV when commentator Kenneth More at the Baftas mistakenly referred to Luisa as his wife – eight years after Moore and Squires had separated.

Tragically, Dot ended up a penniless and homeless recluse, living rent-free in the house of a life-long fan in the Rhondda who decided to take her in.

She died in 1998, aged 83, at Llwynypia Hospital in Rhondda, after a long-running battle with cancer.

And despite all that had happened between Roger and Dot, at her funeral, a bouquet of purple tulips, lilies of the valley and orange flowers arrived with a card with the words: “I’ve said it with flowers. Roger.”

My Word Is My Bond: The Autobiography by Roger Moore is out now.

Discuss this news here...