The word ‘lucky’ and number ‘seven’ have cropped up frequently throughout the fascinating life and career of Sir Roger Moore.

This luck paved the way for some of the roles for which he is best known, such as Ivanhoe, Simon Templar in The Saint and Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders.

Meanwhile, a call to his home telephone number, Denham 2-007, brought the role that was to define him as my generation’s James Bond in seven films.

Performing to a full house, the veteran actor regaled the audience with these tales and more from a career that spans seven decades – many of which feature in his new book, Last Man Standing.

We heard about a lisping doorstep ‘welcome’ from a toothless guesthouse landlady from his early days as a stage actor, to amusing anecdotes about his Hollywood co-stars, all of which were peppered with humour and a raised eyebrow that invited peals of laughter from the enraptured audience.

He quipped about his Persuaders co-star Tony Curtis’s obsession with breasts; the amorous antics of pint-sized Bond baddie, Herve Villichaize, in the bawdy houses of Bangkok during the shooting of The Man With The Golden Gun; Lana Turner’s lesson in passionate kissing; and how that magnetic watch really worked on Madeline Smith’s dress in his first Bond film, Live and Let Die.

Some of his wittiest one-liners were unscripted, coming from questions from the audience, while the 86-year-old also showed a more serious side, giving an impassioned speech about his work as a UNICEF ambassador.

Sir Roger is a natural raconteur and if it hadn’t have been for his biographer Gareth Owen reining him in every now and again, he would perhaps still be chatting away on that stage – but there’d be no complaints from anyone who was there, as his delightful delivery is truly captivating