Strange as it seems, Roger Moore actually parodied Bond on a ’60s sketch show years before his self-parodying take on 007 became famous in the ’70s

Despite what even 007’s faithful franchise fans may think, 1973’s hit Live and Let Die wasn’t Roger Moore’s first time playing the role of legendary super-spy James Bond.

Over the years, MI6’s most famous field agent James Bond has gone through many different iterations with each actor who takes on the role giving the character his own spin (although every James Bond owes a debt to the influential original Sean Connery).

Now with the long-delayed release of No Time To Die coming soon, Daniel Craig’s edgier Bourne-influenced take on Bond will be retired for a fresh new version of 007.

However, long before Pierce Brosnan’s campy Bond or Timothy Dalton’s darker iteration of the character, one of the first actors to take over the role of Ian Fleming’s most iconic creation was Roger Moore when he replaced Sean Connery in 1973.

Moore’s campier take on Bond lasted until 1985, much longer than Connery’s original replacement George Lazenby (who appeared only in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).

However, in a twist interesting for fans of the character, the official 007 installment Live and Let Die wasn’t the first time Moore played the famous role.

Almost ten years before his movie debut with Live & Let Die, Moore played a parody version of James Bond in a 1964 skit for the short-lived sketch show Mainly Millicent, which was hosted by Millicent Martin.

The spoof sees 007 trying to take a well-deserved holiday only for the debonair ladies man to run into Russian spy/former love interest Sonia Sekova (played by Martin) after which all manner of espionage-trope-spoofing hijinks ensue.

At 36 years old, Moore is actually closer in age to the average Bond actor in this skit than he was during his official time as Bond, and he and Martin pull of a sprightly, fast-paced slapstick routine whose clever premise (Bond and his former paramour distrust each other and are constantly attempting, Spy Vs Spy style, to permanently retire one another over drinks) succeeds thanks to both performers’ deadpan commitment to the bit.

Speaking of Moore’s deadpan stylings in the Mainly Millicent clip, it’s ironic, given how famous Moore’s campier reinvention of Bond became in the decades since his tenure as 007, that his parody of the character sees the actor offer a more strait-laced, uptight performance of the MI6 agent.

It’s unusual to see Moore playing Bond as the straight man compared to his famously quippy take in the more fun, humorous James Bond films, but it works for the scene wherein the dead-serious attitudes of both actors are contrasted with the goofy, cartoony action and their witty dialogue, Airplane!-style.

Less surprising for fans of the James Bond franchise is the fact that Mainly Millicent’s production values weren’t quite as impressive as the 007 movies.

Even Bond’s brief appearance on the series managed to include a slew of goofs and bloopers (although luckily none of these accidents befell Moore).

Early on in the sequence, the waiter can be seen knocking over glasses, while later on Millicent Martin herself trips towards the end of the appearance.

Maybe the actor managed to net the role of James Bond because Roger Moore proved he could maintain a professional, smooth air even in the face of all this comedic chaos.