By any standard, the phone call came pretty much out of left field. Would it be possible to organise a star-studded charity dinner hosted by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Kensington Palace, in, er, three weeks' time?

For those of us who've gone into meltdown organising a barmitzvah - despite 13 years' notice - agreeing to such a project would smack of sheer lunacy. But for Liz Taylor, A-list party planner, who is next month due to appear in her own Channel 4 programme, there was no time to panic. The opportunity was too good to miss, and she immediately said yes.

"I suppose it was a bit mad and the job was a little bit of a challenge,'' recalls the mother of two with an impish smile and palpable understatement. ''It wasn't just the lack of warning. The only direction we had was that the theme was winter whites, and since it was for the charity CentrePoint, there wasn't that much of a budget. I just had to do the most professional job I could.'' Which, judging from the photographs, Liz clearly did, transforming the palace into a magical winter forest, complete with ice palace and a ballerina dancing atop a 12-foot rotating music box.

The 700 guests - including Taylor Swift and Jon Bon Jovi - were suitably ''blown away''. There's now another charity dinner in the pipeline for the Duchess of Cambridge.

Perhaps, then, it's this unflappability, coupled with breathtaking daring, which has helped fuel Liz Taylor's reputation as the go-to organiser for top flight events. Most recently, her company, the Taylor Lynn Corporation, planned the wedding of tabloid favourites Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright at Hengrave Hall in Suffolk. This time, she had, ooh, two months' notice. Another challenge?

''Well, I've known Michelle for a long time, since I do a lot of work with Coronation Street,'' says Liz, ''and she and Mark were delightful. The hardest aspect on these sorts of occasions is the coverage by a celebrity magazine [in this case a rumoured £1 million deal with Hello!]. When this happens, the photographs take much longer, so my job is to ensure the guests were fed, had enough to drink and were suitably entertained while this went on.''

Sitting in Liz's gloriously funky Manchester offices (complete with red baby-grand piano, black chaise longue sofas and an illuminated gold deer) and listening to her stories, it becomes clear that, despite her attention to detail, one of the challenges of the job is when the unplanned threatens to unravel the meticulously organised.

Such as the time Liz was asked to arrange a Champions League party for Manchester United in Moscow, only to find customs would not release the lacquered tables and purpose-built bar shipped over for the event. ''We tried everything, and in the end, it just comes down to instinct. The manager of the hotel was a lesbian and she seemed to take a shine to me. Now, that is not my thing, but I did spend time chatting to her and sharing coffee and vodka. As a result, she introduced me to a friend in the Russian government who was able to pull strings. The stuff arrived with only a couple of hours to spare!''

On another occasion, the haulage truck carrying the instruments and equipment of a top Parisian band was towed away the night before a huge Jewish wedding at a five-star hotel in Manchester. With 400 people expecting to be entertained, and faced with implacable red tape, Liz took herself to the local police station and, sobbing to baffled officers, announced she wasn't leaving until it was sorted out.

It was.

The daughter of a judge, Liz was born into a traditional Jewish Manchester family. After leaving school, she joined a Marks and Spencer management training scheme and pursued a career in retail. After first daughter, Goldie, now 30, was born, Liz spent time as a stay-at-home mum. But, unable to ignore her strong work ethic, she began planning small parties for friends as well as taking on a part-time role in fashion PR.

It was a chance meeting with the sales director at the Midland Hotel in Manchester that set Liz on her present career path. ''She mentioned that they needed someone to plan their client party and I seized the opportunity.''

Trim, beautifully groomed, and with a wonderfully calm speaking voice, her appearance and manner clearly hide her steeliness and determination to succeed. Yet she says that, perhaps, being a Jewish mother also plays its part.

''I suppose it is that combination. On the one hand, I am territorial, I am a perfectionist, and I expect the best and use the best people. But I also care. I want to make sure the crew on a job are all well fed, or that the girls in my office are OK. I am a people person.''

In this line of work, she also admits a need to be able to talk to anyone. And that includes Prince Andrew, whom she found herself sitting next to at a private dinner at Buckingham Palace. ''I just started telling him I was thinking of having my eyes done and we had a fine old chat about plastic surgery.'' As you do.

Although the business appeals to the high end of the market (at the moment she has several clients whose budget ranges between £250,000 and £1 million) not everything, she says, has to be off the scale. Though she won't be drawn on her own fees, she says she will work with any budget. ''Yes, detail is important but, in my mind, entertainment is far more so. People may not have remembered how the chicken was cooked but they will remember a fabulous band.''

Some people, she admits, have very fixed ideas, while others are vague. So, when an 18-year-old told her she wanted a circus theme for her birthday - clowns were considered clichéd and Cirque du Soleil a little passé.

The solution - a huge rotating carousel bar with a DJ working from the middle and vodka cocktails complete with goldfish in bags.

Married to Roger, an accountant, Liz is also mother to Katie, 28, who is in PR. Her other daughter Goldie works for Yad Vashem.

Describing herself as a Jewish traditionalist, Friday nights at her home in Cheshire, says Liz, are sacrosanct. ''I love to entertain this way.''

Her Channel 4 programme will show Liz at work organising a 40th birthday party, a barmitzvah and a charity event for the Marina Dalglish appeal.

One event that she won't be organising, is daughter Katie's wedding in the autumn. ''I did Goldie's which was wonderful but exhausting. This time, I want to just sit back and let someone else run it.''

If there is one chink of weakness in the Liz Taylor armour, it's her granddaughter, Mimi.

''I love her more than anything; she can make me do anything. I just can't resist her…''

Good job Mimi is only 15 months old as that will be some wedding…