In the Spring of 1962 Lew Grade of ATV Television held a Press Conference where he launched ‘The Saint’ Series with actor Roger Moore, who would play the famous Simon Templar in a series of 26 one hour shows (News to Roger Moore who had been contracted as he believed for only half hour episodes).
The famous Simon Templar like other dashing TV/Film hero’s e.g. Batman, James Bond etc required a recognisable form of transport and ATV’s first choice was a white ‘E’ type Jaguar, which had been launched at the Geneva Motor Show the previous year. Jaguar were approached to lend the TV company a car in lieu of advertising but in view of the already high demand for the model in the USA and being unable to keep up with current production requirements they declined the offer, suggesting that they did not require the publicity the series would provide. It is rumoured that Roger Moore even offered to personally purchase a MK10 Jaguar to use in the series, as the best supply date for an ‘E’ type was over 2 months...READ MORE>> 
