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1998

17 Sept
Obtained from the BBC News Archives

Actor Roger Moore is reportedly suing TV company ITC over the rights to his 1970s TV show The Persuaders.

According to The Independent, Moore claims he signed a deal with ITC in 1970 over the UK rights to The Persuaders as well as his 1960s show The Saint.

Under the arrangement, ITC could rerun all 24 episodes of the series in the UK up to three times, and then it would have to negotiate a new deal. A similar arrangement was made over The Saint, according to Moore.

In 1998 ITC asked Moore if they could re-run The Saint and The Persuaders on Granada Sky Broadcasting. Moore alleges ITC made a deal to show The Saint for £100,000 - but included The Persuaders in the deal without his consent.

A spokesman for ITC's parent company, Polygram, refused to comment.

The ITC library - set up by late impresario Lord Grade's company ATV - was recently sold by Polygram to Carlton Communications.


Second Article Obtained during the 17 Sept.

More than two-hundred memorabilia from the James Bond films have been sold at auction in London.

One of the most sought after items to go under the hammer at Christies was a steel-rimmed bowler hat used by Oddjob in the 1964 release, Goldfinger.

The hat went for just under sixty-two thousand pounds.

The submarine car driven by Roger Moore in the Spy Who Loved Me sold for more than twenty-eight thousand pounds, and a Rolex watch worn by the same actor in Live and Let Die went for twenty-two thousand pounds

The steel-rimmed bowler hat used to deadly effect by Oddjob, one of the most famous Bond villains of all, has sold for more than £60,000 at a massive auction of 007 memorabilia.

After frantic bidding at Christie's in London, an anonymous telephone bidder eventually secured the hat for £62,000.

In the 1964 film Goldfinger, the actor Harold Sakata decapitates a number of innocents with the deadly hat, before himself meeting his end at the hands of Sean Connery.

It was the most sought after item of more than 270 lots which went under the hammer.

Serious collectors joined Bond fans with only a few hundred pounds to spend in the sale room as toys, posters, clothing and props were sold.

Another particularly sought after lot was the Lotus Esprit submarine driven by Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me. It eventually sold for more than £28,000.

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual worn by Moore in his first Bond film, Live and Let Die, made around £22,000 - more than five times the estimate.

In the film, the watch is adapted by Secret Service gadgets expert Q to feature a powerful magnet.

A single collection amassed by an avid Bond enthusiast over the last 28 years formed the backbone of the sale, with a number of other items coming from Bob Simmons, a stunt man on several Bond films, and from other workers at Pinewood Studios.

Many of the key props were originally displayed at the James Bond Nightspot in the London Hilton Hotel during the 1960s and 1970s.

Seven bullets with Bond's name on them - probably used to promote The Man with The Golden Gun - each fetched around £1,500.

The personalised number plate 0007 made £31,000 and dozens of posters, toys and props made between several hundred and many thousands of pounds.

Actor Desmond Llewellyn, who played Q in the films, was astounded at the sums being spent.

He said: "I think it's fantastic, but these people are crazy. The amount of money they are spending is unbelievable."

Graham Rye, who sold Oddjob's bowler hat, was equally amazed at the money being spent, but rather more pleased.

Mr Rye, who runs the James Bond Fan Club, said he had no regrets at selling his treasured memento. The money would be ploughed back into the fan club.

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