James Bond actor, Sir Roger Moore, has died aged 89, his family has announced.
He played the famous spy in seven Bond films including Live and Let Die and the Spy Who Loved Me.
Sir Roger’s family confirmed the news on Twitter, saying he had died after “a short but brave battle with cancer”.
The statement, from his children, read: “Thank you Pops for being you, and being so very special to so many people.”
“With the heaviest of hearts, we must share the awful news that our father, Sir Roger Moore, passed away today. We are all devastated,” they said in a Twitter post.
Sir Roger, who died in Switzerland, will have a private funeral in Monaco in accordance with his wishes, they added.
“The love with which he was surrounded in his final days was so great it cannot be quantified in words alone,” read the statement from Deborah, Geoffrey and Christian.
“Our thoughts must now turn to supporting Kristina [his wife] at this difficult time.”
It added: “We know our own love and admiration will be magnified many times over, across the world, by people who knew him for his films, his television shows and his passionate work for UNICEF which he considered to be his greatest achievement”.
Before the James Bond movies, Sir Roger played Simon Templar in The Saint TV series between 1962 and 1969 and Lord (Brett) Sinclair in The Persuaders alongside Tony Curtis from 1971 to 1972.
He was the longest-serving James Bond actor, having spent 12 years in the role from his debut in 1973, to his retirement from the role in 1985.
Sir Roger was also the oldest actor to have played Bond – he was 45 in Live and Let Die (1973) and 58 when he announced his retirement on 3 December 1985.
Appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1991, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2003 for “services to charity”.
In 2008, the French government appointed him a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and the same year he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Married four times, he was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2013, which left him unable to drink martinis.
He had to learn to walk again after a bout of pneumonia, and had a pacemaker fitted after collapsing on stage.
