ROD Stewart wrote a song about her, Peter Sellers married her almost as soon as meeting her, Jack Nicholson watched her give birth and she has appeared in at least two of the best British cult movies to have ever been made.

Consequently, former Bond girl and Scandinavian Siren Britt Ekland will not be short of a tale or two about a thing or two when she brings her one-woman show to Abergavenny's Borough Theatre this Saturday night.

'The man with the golden pen', Chronicle reporter TIM BUTTERS was left 'shaken but not stirred' after his brief encounter with a class act who is making best use of her 'licence to spill' the stories and set the record straight.

"For sheer force of personality, overwhelming charisma, and irresistible magnetism, I think Frank Sinatra would definitely be up there in regard to all the people I have met during the course of my life."

So said Britt, when prompted about the time Sinatra had the much sought after Swedish sex symbol jetted in on his own private plane to see him perform.

Such stories, you realise, are quite commonplace when talking to a woman who was one of the most photographed and talked about celebrities in the the world during the 1970s.

However, as Britt is keen to point out, "Fame for fame's sake is a burden. I see so many young people desperately seeking fame and little else. It's very hollow and they should be careful for what they wish for, because it always comes with a heavy price."

Britt's story in the fast-lane began when fame found her in the form of a Twentieth Century Fox Scout when she was just a 20-year-old.

"I was in Rome filming a small picture," explained Britt, "I was sitting outside a cafe and drinking a cappuccino when this guy approached me and asked me if I was willing to do a screen-test. The next thing I knew they had offered me a seven-year contract."

It was during the filming of her first movie in 1964, when comedian and movie star Peter Sellers saw a picture of her on the front page of a newspaper and quite literally came knocking.

"I was staying at the Dorchester Hotel and Peter knocked upon my door and invited me for a drink.

"My life changed after that initial knock, because from then on in I was caught up in a whirlwind romance which saw us getting married ten days later," said Britt.

Britt's marriage to the manic depressive Sellers ended a few years later, and now with the benefit of hindsight she warns others, "Don't whatever you do get married too young or rush headlong into things. I wouldn't recommend it. All too often it ends in disaster. You should see a bit of the world and live a little before you settle down. That's exactly what I've always told my children and that's what I believe in to this day."

Following her doomed marriage with Sellers, many relationships followed suit for the legendary beauty whose love-life has often eclipsed her film career, the most highly publicised of these romances being with Rod Stewart.

When asked if it was true that Rod's famous song 'You're In My Heart' was inspired by this relationship she replied, "He told people after we split up that it was written for the Scotland football team, and he's entitled to say what he wants, it's his song, but I know it was written with me in mind, you only have to listen to the lyrics."

Although Britt has appeared in over 100 films, she is best well known for her appearance in The Wicker Man, Get Carter, and of course as Mary Goodnight in The Man With The Golden Gun alongside Roger Moore, whom she added was her favourite all-time 007.

"Roger is the most delightful man. I met him at a charity dinner recently and he never seems to change. He is so refined, suave, and tongue in cheek, exactly what I look for in a man.

"He is of course married to a Swedish woman so he is well looked after.

"Incidentally," said Britt, delighting in the opportunity to reveal some additional showbiz gossip from a more than colourful past, "David Niven, who I also found to be absolutely charming in a uniquely British way, was also married to a woman from Sweden when he said to me that if he wasn't already spoken for he'd have wed me."

Returning to the subject of joining the exclusive ranks of the 'Bond Girl Club', Britt agreed, "It's a great honour and privilege to be a Bond girl, you're included in a very select group.

"Working on a Bond movie is very glamorous and it was so enjoyable from start to finish. We had very kind and generous producers who always made sure there was plenty of Dom Perignon flowing freely.

After a life spent in film, Britt revealed that her favourite director was Exorcist Director William Friedkin who directed her in The Night They Raided Minky's because, "Although he was a slave driver he was very inventive and brought out the best in me."

And for the record her favourite actor is John Hurt, who she appeared with in Scandal, for his, "Professionalism, consistency and talent."

These days however Britt feels more at home on stage than on the silver screen, for a multitude of reasons, but one more immediate than others.

"The film industry is a brutal and savage business, especially for women, You have to claw your way to the top and unlike their male counterparts, once women reach a certain age they're viewed as redundant and past it.

"We're not given the opportunity to have the same sort of longevity as say a Sean Connery or Harrison Ford.

"But that's the way it is and that's the way it'll stay. My only advice to young actresses is to develop a thick skin and be aware of the rocky ride you're in for.

"These days however, films would take too much out of me and I'm happy at the moment just to be focusing on the forthcoming shows."

Britt treads the boards at the Borough for the first time this weekend with her candid and disarming show and as she told the Chronicle, "It all starts in Wales. Abergavenny will be my first port of call in a ten show tour and I'm very exciting about visiting the town and seeing the mountains.

"This show is unlike anything I've ever done before and there'll be no safety net or props to hide behind if it all goes wrong. It's just me and my life up there and it's quite a daunting prospect.

"So many things have been written about me in the past and this show puts the record straight. I've got a lot of very colourful stories for the Abergavenny audience and I hope they'll leave the theatre with a smile on their lips after spending a night in my company."

Britt Ekland will appear at the Abergavenny Borough Theatre on Saturday, May 15. Tickets priced £17.50, (concessions £15) are available at the box office.