It seems Kate's into Rocknroll

Man with odd name is music to actress's ears

Take it from me, there is never any smoke without fire. Actress Kate Winslet emerged as the heroine of the blaze that destroyed part of Richard Branson's private Caribbean island when she carried the business mogul's mother to safety.

Everyone was left cooing about how brave the pretty actress was - and that's true - while others oohed about how sad it was for the Virgin boss to lose his magnificent holiday home - which is also true.

But the one question nobody cared to ask was: what exactly was Kate doing on the island last month? We know she was there with her children, and we know they were staying in the main house, which burnt down. Now there could be two reasons for her being there: either she rented the house for a holiday or she was Richard's personal guest.

If she rented the house, it is unlikely she would have had Richard's mom with her. And if Richard invited her to stay, why was he staying in a separate house on the property?

I have the answer - and the reason it's a rather delicate situation. You see, Kate has become rather friendly with Richard's nephew, Ned. There's one problem - he's married.

But that hasn't stopped their relationship from blossoming.

The two have been popping up everywhere.

Kate has been busy of late, promoting her new movie at the Venice Film Festival and accepting a best actress Emmy in Los Angeles a week ago. But she found time to join Ned in London this week for the memorial service for Richard's dad, Ted.

So it seems she is almost part of the Branson family these days. But there's probably little chance of her taking his surname if things go further.

Ned, 33, who works for his uncle's space venture, Virgin Galactic, legally changed his family name by deed poll to Rocknroll. He used to be known as Abel Smith, but felt that Ned Rocknroll suited him better.

Whatever the name, the man seems to have Kate ecstatic. According to reports in the British tabloid The Sun, at the Emmy awards she kept showing people pictures of Ned and talking about him.

All this hasn't gone down too well with Ned's wife, society heiress Eliza Cowdray, who is 10 years younger than him. They were married in 2009 at her family's estate in Sussex, but split earlier this year.

However, Eliza wants to make a go of the marriage. She reportedly said: "I've changed my mind about the divorce. I am hoping this will turn out to be more of a break. I have never stopped loving him. We're not getting divorced."

All of this leaves Ned and Kate in a bit of a pickle. Kate, 35, has been married twice. She split from her first husband, Jim Threapleton, in 2001, and her marriage to Sam Mendes ended last year.

Right now, she probably wishes she was an unknown and able to conduct her love life in private. But, as luck would have it, her star has never shone more brightly. The Titanic actress recently topped a poll to choose Britain's leading lady, and Madame Tussauds will unveil a wax model of her next month.

To top it all, Richard Branson is no stranger to generating publicity for himself and his business empire. The chances of Kate hiding in the shadows are very bleak indeed.