And she revealed that stripping off for sex scenes with co-star Patrick Wilson had left her feeling physically sick.

"As an actress, when you have to take your clothes off and get naked it’s really, really terrible," she said.

"It’s a terrible day and when you wake up you feel sick and you think to yourself, ’I must be absolutely mad and I must remember not to do this ever again’."

In the drama, Kate plays a reluctant mother and housewife who cheats on her husband and has little interest in her children.

The actress, a devoted mum to Mia, six, and Joe, three, admitted she found the role tough.

She said: "There was a part of me that thought: ’Can I do this?’ But then I decided I was up to the challenge so I said yes."

The film had its British premiere as part of the London Film Festival.

Kate misses her corsets - Oct 16 2006
Kate Winslet felt uncomfortable starring in The Holiday (see trailer) - because she played a normal, modern day woman.

The English rose is so used to appearing in period dramas she joked she wasn’t sure what to do without a corset and a flowing wig.

"In The Holiday I kind of didn’t like playing a contemporary English person," she admits.

"It was an uncomfortable feeling, I can’t hide behind anything. There’s no wig, no corset, no dialect. It’s just me, me and me!"

The blonde actress, who is married to filmmaker Sam Mendes, has another unusual role ahead of her - she’s voicing a punky girl rat in new Aardman Animations’ movie, Flushed Away.

The animated film follows the adventures of a plucky sewer rat called Rita.

Other big names set to voice characters include Sir Ian McKellen, Bill Nighy and Andy Serkis.

Kate Winslet is jealous of Cameron Diaz - Feb 9, 2006
Kate Winslet is jealous of Cameron Diaz. The British beauty says she’d love to be as stylish and chic as stunning Cameron - and admits she is envious of her effortless fashion sense. She told Glamour magazine: "Cameron is that rare woman who pulls off looking fabulous while dressed down and, damn it, we’re all jealous." Meanwhile, Kate’s husband, Sam Mendes, has revealed he may quit Hollywood to spend more time with his children.

The ’American Beauty’ director, who has two children Joe and Mia with Kate, admits he misses his kids like mad when he is away from home working. Although Sam has previously taken his family with him while shooting on location, he insists he isn’t prepared to uproot either of them when they start school and may have to quit film making. He said: "Once my kids hit school age, it will get tricky. There’s no way I’m going to put them through years of being gypsies."

Hollywood hunger - January 2005
Kate Winslet has launched an attack on actors who pretend to eat in film scenes although it’s obvious they haven’t taken a single bite. Winslet, 29, worked her way through a large plate of Chinese nosh when filming a scene in her recent hit movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The global star has had battles with her weight over the years but condemns the pressure Hollywood puts on its female stars to be stick thin. She said of the scene, " I was so uncomfortable but proud that I had done it!".
Celeb gossip by Louise Bolotin