A screen siren of a past age - Liz Taylor.

At the height of her fame there were few if any screen actress who could hold a candle to the famous and celebrated siren Liz Taylor (1932-2011). The combustible combination with her husband Richard Burton was dynamite. The film - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? where they acted together epitomised this. As a couple and family therapist I would use this film as a metaphor for a destructive and dysfunctional - game without end - marriage. Taylor had a natural raw talent that was first noticed in the movie - Lassie which she made when still very young. There has been too much emphasis of how beautiful she was, and not sufficient attention paid to her great acting ability. In addition she was known to be a firm friend of many actors including James Dean and Rock Hudson. When my sister ran a small country pub in Seal, Kent - Liz Taylor and Rock Hudson came in with a whole gang of actors. They were filming close by the movie The Mirror Crack'd. She has dined out on the story for many years. Last night we had a profile of the actress on BBC4 and tonight there is a programme, I'm very much looking forward to seeing on BBC4 Burton and Taylor, with Dominic West as Burton and Helena Bonham Carter as Taylor.