Audrey Hepburn deceived me into being a Goodwill Ambassador
Sir Roger for BBC World Service

In an interview on BBC World Service Roger Moore, the former James Bond, talks about how Audrey Hepburn deceived him into becoming involved with UNICEF.

Inviting him to join a press conference, she convinced him that the press wanted to talk to him about his films, But she didn't allow them to talk about films. She wanted to talk about children.

Moore is at the United Nations Special Session on the Rights of the Child for the unveiling of a statue of Audrey Hepburn, the former Goodwill Ambassador and in his capacity as current Goodwill Ambassador.

He talked about how Hepburn inspired him to work with children, She spoke with great passion, he said, She was an exceedingly eloquent and persuasive lady.

He quickly become more involved. I read that 40,000 children die a day - but that there were no names. I wanted to put names to those statistics.

He has now visited many areas of the world on UNICEF business. Speaking on his reactions to the poverty he has seen he said, There is a sense of guilt that I should have so much and they don't. The disparity between the wealthy and the poor is quite horrendous.

He talks of children who are blind because of lack of vitamin A or suffering malnutrition, saying, You see these things and you say, "My God, we've got to do something about this."

Moore also expresses his frustration about the Roman Catholic's approach to birth control, UNICEF is not political, but you have to say what you feel. I'm not Catholic and I disagree on a number of occasions about birth control. Talking about visiting mud huts inhabited by women who have been abandoned by their husbands, he says, I have been to far too many huts where I have seen Madonnas on the wall.. maybe 9 or 10 children in a family and a macho husband who has left and will go off to procreate another 10.

Moore was interviewed for the BBC World Service daily magazine programme, "Outlook".

© BBC World Service, 9 May 2002

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