‘Taylor nerd’ Kardashian to front BBC show praising her idol

American star will explore actress’s life beyond ‘soap opera’ headlines and eight marriages in new series

KIM KARDASHIAN is to make a BBC documentary hailing Elizabeth Taylor as “the blueprint for modern celebrity”.

Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar will go beyond the actress’s film career to explore her work as a businesswoman and activist – roles in which Kardashian has also cast herself.

Kardashian has described herself as “a huge Elizabeth Taylor nerd”. She will executive produce and appear in the documentary, which has been commissioned by the BBC Arts department.

The BBC said: “The series will feature interviews with a range of high-profile stars who knew Taylor personally – including Kim Kardashian, who conducted the last interview with her before she died.” In that interview, conducted in Feb 2011 for Harper’s Bazaar, Kardashian opened by telling the eighttimes married Taylor: “You are my idol. But I’m six husbands and some big jewels behind. What should I do?”

Announcing the three-part documentary, which will be broadcast on BBC Two, Kardashian said: “Elizabeth Taylor was unapologetically herself, a fighter. She is proof that you can keep evolving and changing and have different chapters in your life – and she paved the way for all of us who came after her with that blueprint.”

Taylor died in March 2011. The series will feature interviews with her family, friends and colleagues. They include Dame Joan Collins, who competed with Taylor for the role of Cleopatra, and Dr Anthony Fauci, who worked alongside her in the fight against Aids.

“For too long, the story of Elizabeth Taylor has been told as a soap opera. The eight marriages, the diamonds, the addictions. This series gives Elizabeth Taylor the significance she richly deserves, in all her incarnations,” the BBC said. “The series will take a deep dive into Taylor’s craft and technique as an actor – one who mesmerised cinemagoers, but also changed the relationship between audiences and stars.

“We’ll see how she reinvented the nature of fame, even as she smashed the glass ceiling in Hollywood, before going on to become a billion-dollar businesswoman, activist and advocate.

“Each episode will examine how she broke down barriers in every part of her life – and the price she paid for defying convention.”

Kardashian, 43, found notoriety via a leaked sex tape before becoming a reality TV star and businesswoman worth more than $1billion (£790million).

She has spoken often about her admiration for Taylor. In 2014, she considered buying Taylor’s former home in Bel Air. She told Vogue: “It was just so enchanting, with a garden with really pretty trellises and beautiful roses.

“But it wasn’t realistic for me to purchase. It only had a one-car garage.”