Did Diana Rigg deliberately eat garlic before her Bond scenes? The truth behind her alleged feud with George Lazenby

Rigg starred opposite Lazenby in ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’

Diana Rigg and George Lazenby in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (Rex)

Dame Diana Rigg, who has died at the age of 82, might have been the only Bond girl to get 007 to the altar - but she didn’t get on well with her co-star George Lazenby.

The late actor starred in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as Countess Teresa di Vicenzo opposite Lazenby’s spy. Their characters got married, but the romance was short-lived as her character was shot dead soon after the wedding.

Ever since the film came out, there have been reports of tensions between Rigg and Lazenby on set, including a rumour that Rigg deliberately ate lots of garlic before her love scenes with Lazenby in order to throw him off.

According to Lazenby, this story was blown out of proportion. In a 1981 interview with 007 Magazine, he said: “That was another press thing that blew up in Pinewood. We were having lunch just before the love scene, and there were a lot of press around because they were invited that day.  

“Diana Rigg was having lunch about four or five tables away and she yelled quite loudly, ‘I'm having garlic today George, I hope you are.’ You know, it was just a joke. They took it down as if she ate garlic so she could put me off, but I don't quite remember smelling garlic on her, and it was quite a lot of fun with her and she's another bright lady.”

It appears, however, that Lazenby was the one who had fuelled the rumour originally, as Rigg wrote an open letter to Daily Sketch in 1970 condemning the stories he allegedly told about her.

“I’m tired of reading those paranoid statements to the press wherein you were solely surrounded by hostile people,” she wrote. “I agree that by the end of the film most of the crew were hostile, but only because of your extreme behaviour. Why else would your dresser threaten to hand in his notice? Why else would three chauffeurs leave you within a week? Why else was one member of the unit restrained from striking you after one inexcusable and crude outburst against one of the girls in the film?”

She continued: “No, George, I did not eat garlic on purpose. No, George, I was not, as you said, guzzling champagne in some warm bar when we had the row.” Lazenby had implied that Rigg could often be found downing alcohol between takes.

Rigg also accused Lazenby of “constantly storming off the set, turning up late and sulking". She added: “As far as money is concerned, George, let’s face it: £22,000 for your first film – with perks thrown in – cannot be a hardship." She added she was not surprised that producers struggled with his “demands for more money, bigger chauffeur-driven cars, grander apartments, etc”. 

The day after Rigg’s letter was published, Lazenby retaliated with a letter in the same paper, writing: “My grievances and my ‘paranoid statements to the press’, as you put it, are all part of somebody trying desperately to co-operate and become a good actor. I am, as you know, a raw recruit to show business.”

Lazenby quit the iconic role after On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, his one and only Bond film. Although his performance was panned, Rigg is considered to be one of the best Bond girls, and the film has since been championed by the likes of Christopher Nolan.