Marriage plans for Burton and Bonham Carter

Acclaimed film director Tim Burton and actress Helena Bonham Carter feel like they are a married couple, but now it seems that they are going to make it official.

Burton, 49, has revealed that he has been contemplating when the pair should become husband and wife.

In an interview with the Radio Times magazine, he said: "Helena and I feel so married we never got around to doing it, but I'm thinking about it. I'm a late bloomer."

The couple met in 2001 on the set of Planet of the Apes, directed by Burton. The couple live in adjoining houses in London, where they have knocked through the separating wall.

Burton has two children with 41-year-old Bonham Carter: Billy Ray, four, and a baby daughter born in December last year.

He has directed his long-term girlfriend in several films including Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and most recently the musical Sweeny Todd.

Speaking about her part in the film, Bonham Carter commented: "I would safely say it made it much harder for me to get the part because the director was my boyfriend. He told me you look right for it, and potentially you are perfect for the role, but we have no idea if you can sing."

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