She was a 21-year-old bikini model when she was cast as an extra called Snow Bunny in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only.
But Debbie Newsome yesterday claimed Sir Roger Moore only had eyes for her the moment she arrived on set – and upgraded her to a Bond girl.
Miss Newsome claims Sir Roger, who was in his early fifties at the time he was making the 1981 film, showered her with unsolicited compliments and ‘never missed a chance to grab’ or ‘hug’ her.
She told Australian magazine Woman's Day that he presented her with a diamond-encrusted bracelet and even sent her a bottle of expensive champagne with a note attached reading: ‘Darling Debbie, I think about you constantly and if I wasn’t with my wife right now you would be in trouble upstairs with me.’
At the time he was married to his third wife, Italian actress Luisa Mattioli.
Miss Newsome, now a 54-year-old mother of two who lives in Australia where she is best known as a TV host, has broken her silence about what happened three decades ago with the actor, now 87.
She admits she was initially flattered by the attention and overwhelmed by the glamour of being whisked to Italy where a limousine took her to an exclusive ski resort in Cortina d’Ampezzo for filming.
Miss Newsome said she felt ‘excited, flattered and confused all at once’ by Sir Roger’s behaviour, adding he was ‘such a gentleman on screen it was hard to be offended by his actions.
‘He was a mega movie star in his 50s and the most famous “secret agent” in the world. I, on the other hand, was just 21.’ And although what happened to her now seems shocking, she saw matters in a different light.
‘Roger had pulled strings to elevate me to a featured role as a Bond girl – all my Christmases had come at once,’ she said. ‘I didn’t want to appear difficult so I went along with all the touches and kisses on my neck and cheeks.
‘He was James Bond, so what was there to worry about? I was an inexperienced model from Down Under who’d never been to Europe before. Suddenly I was one of the Bond girls. I felt on top of the world!’
Miss Newsome said Sir Roger, who was knighted in 2003 for his charity work, made it clear what his intentions were on the second day of filming. ‘I was waiting to shoot when behind me I felt masculine hands up my back. He whispered in my ear, “So here’s my little Australian bird again”.
‘I froze and he picked me up and held me tightly to him.
‘It was a flower shop scene and even after the director said he had the shot, Roger kept lifting me up and pulling me towards him for another 47 takes until finally the director was shocked enough to say, “Come on, Roger, put her down – we need to get on with this!” ’
She added: ‘His wandering hands were patting me on the thigh, running up my back. I didn’t know how to handle it.’
It was during a dinner at the cast’s hotel midway through shooting that the bottle of champagne and the note arrived on her table and she realised she had not misread the signs.
Miss Newsome said: ‘I read the note again and again and realised I hadn’t misread those overtures from him after all. So I turned to where he was seated next to his wife, waved and mouthed the words, “Well, bad ******* luck for you then!” ’
However, this only served to encourage Sir Roger, according to Miss Newsome, who said that when it was time to leave the set he sent her a farewell note which read: ‘A beautiful girl should have a beautiful gift.’
It was, recalls Miss Newsome, a ‘magnificent gold bracelet covered in diamonds’.
It was stolen some years later but Miss Newsome is said to remember it fondly and is also said to be proud of her time as a Bond girl.
Sir Roger, who is a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, played James Bond in seven films between 1973 and 1985.
He married his first wife, Doorn Van Steyn, in 1946 when he was 19. They divorced in 1953 and shortly after he married Dorothy Squires.
In 1961 he left her for Italian actress Miss Mattioli. They separated in 1993 and he began a relationship with her friend Kiki Tholstrup, marrying her in 2002.
Representatives for Sir Roger were contacted for a comment but did not respond. More tips at:
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