Winslet and Mendes arm-in-arm at premiere

Movie golden couple Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes stepped out arm in arm in public for the first time in the UK last night as they attended the premiere of his latest film.

Although the pair had been spotted at awards bashes and premieres in Los Angeles, Paris and New York the couple waited until tonight to cement their relationship in the gaze of British fans.

And Mendes said his partner was more nervous about his big night _ as his second film The Road to Perdition was screened _ than he was.

He said: “I said what are you worrying about, it’s not your film. I think when it is her own film she feels more in control.

“It is often more difficult to read bad things about other people than it is about yourself,” said the Oscar-winning director. Winslet, 26, reassured her boyfriend with a kiss as they strode up the steps to the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square.

The pair went public about their relationship in December 2001, following her split from husband Jim Threapleton. She recently said of her relationship with the American Beauty director: “We are very happy, unbelievably happy.”

The couple now have homes in London and a country retreat in the Cotswolds thought to be worth more than £3 million.

However Winslet was not keen to discuss any marriage prospects to the 37-year-old filmmaker as they attended the premiere.

“Get out of here,” she said when asked about plans to tie the knot.