Both James Bond and Simon Templer were the epitome of louche, smooth-talking, red-blooded men - bedding beautiful women indiscriminately in their roles as protectors of the British realm.
And while the late Sir Roger Moore may not have had quite as colorful a love-life as the two spies, his romances were dramatic enough to warrant their own headline. Four-times married, the actor, who passed away on Tuesday aged 89, claimed to have survived two ill-fated marriages marred by domestic abuse, while he caused a scandal by falling for family friend Kristina Tholstrup - whom he called his "life- line" - whom he married in 2002.
The actor's first great love, Lucy Woodard (better known as Doorn Van Steyn), was six years the aspiring actor's age when they married in 1946.
Aged 18, Sir Roger fell madly in love with his fellow RADA student. Although the union only lasted seven years, with the couple divorcing in 1953 - the same year he married Welsh singer Dorothy Squires.
It's widely reported that his burgeoning career was the main reason for the break-up of his first marriage; although the Live and Let Die star also revealed that Lucy was physically abusive towards him during their union.
Speaking to Pier's Morgan on the journalist's Life Stories program in 2012, Sir Roger claimed his first wife left him with scars and also punched a doctor who was treating him for a slashed hand.
'She would scratch me. She threw a pot of tea at me once," he told Piers during the interview. "I'd been sunbathing in the garden, I came up and I'd taken off my pants and I gave her some smart Alec answer and this teapot came hurtling at me. I said, 'right, that's it, I'm leaving'."