BAZ BAMIGBOYE

KATE WINSLET talked last night about the ' turbulence' of the break-up of her marriage.

The 25-year-old actress admitted she had been feeling 'Tired and drawn' since her split from husband Jim Threapleton, but said she was looking forward to leaving Britain later this autumn to work on a movie in Texas, alongside Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey.

She dismissed rumours that she and fellow Enigma star Dougray Scott had been having an affair as 'Laughable'.

'It's absolutely and completely laughable. I know nothing about Dougray's personal situation,' she said.

And she also talked about why she felt unable to attend the royal premiere of Enigma, which opens today. 'The break-up has come with a whole lot of outside things you have to contend with. It was too much.' But, in spite of the heartbreak of the past few weeks, she insisted she 'Still believed in love'.

'I'd be a fool to say I didn't. At the moment, though, all the love I have is for my child.' And her work, of course.

Kate's new project, The Life Of David Gale, is a hard-hitting drama about anti-death penalty activists, being made by Alan Parker.

'At a time like this, when things have been a little turbulent for me, it's fantastic to be rewarded with the leading lady role in an American film. It's bloody fantastic,' she told me.

Adding to her excitement is the fact that daughter Mia, now nearly a year old, will accompany her for the two months of filming.

'Mia's coming to Texas, and Daddy will come and visit,' she said.

'People have been sneering at that word 'amicable', but it (our split) really is just that,' she said.

'Jim and I speak daily and he sees a lot of Mia.' As if to prove the point, the phone rings. It's Jim, checking to see if Kate and Mia are OK - and whether the usual posse of photographers is hanging about outside.

It is.

Though their marriage is being terminated by lawyers using cold logic, Kate insisted there was still warmth between her and Jim. She won't explain why the three-year marriage collapsed, but those close to her believe the couple had been struggling for a while to keep it going.

The imbalance in their careers - she the international movie star, he the assistant director - was clearly a factor.

Even so, Kate said she would never discourage other young couples from tying the knot.

'Marrying somebody is a decision based on love and instinct, and that is all I would say about that.

'In terms of whether I would get married again, only time will tell. Time is a great healer.' The only person unaffected by the break-up so far, she added, was Mia.

'She's completely unaware. Our priorities are to keep her as safe and as secure as possible.' Discussing Enigma, Kate said her role (she plays a cypher clerk who helps Scott's character unravel a wartime mystery) was a 'Departure'.

'It was fun to play the ugly duckling for a change. But it's a gorgeous story because the ugly duckling gets the boy in the end.

'Also it honours all those men and women who worked at Bletchley Park during the war and were never recognised because the whole place had to remain a secret for so many years.' One major project on the horizon is an offer to work with Oscarwinning director Sam Mendes and Nicole Kidman at the Donmar Theatre in London.

'A couple of meetings took place and I am still considering it. I would love to do theatre at some point,' Kate said.