Extracts from the soon-to-be published biography of Elizabeth Taylor reveal the extent of the passion between her and Richard Burton, right.
Shooting their first scene together on the set of Cleopatra, Burton was at the end of a two-day bender, his hands shaking so much he couldn’t lift a coffee cup to his lips.
One can imagine the stench of stale cigarettes and alcohol, sweaty top lip and, most likely, halitosis.
And yet this, apparently, was the moment that infatuation struck.
Takes all sorts, I suppose.