Kate Winslet prides herself on being "just a girl from Reading", but juggling her Oscar-winning career with two young children has proven too much even for the down-to-earth actress, who recently had to hire a part-time nanny.

The Reader star, who is often snapped doing the school run, and her director husband Sam Mendes, had previously been caring for their five-year-old son Joe and Kate's daughter Mia, who's eight, without any help.

Hiring someone to look after her children is a decision likely to have been made reluctantly though by the 33-year-old actress, who recently told HELLO!: "There are things I could implement within my life that would probably make it easier."

"I mean it's very tempting to have a nanny and live in a gated community and have a chef – I'd love to have a few dinners cooked for me. But I don’t want that for my children."

Kate's spokesperson has added the actress has never claimed not to have a nanny at a time when she did