An emotional return

Gwyneth Paltrow had not acted for almost a year following the sudden death of her beloved father last October. But last night she decided the time was right to emerge from mourning to take part in a Shakespearean royal gala charity performance in front of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles at the Globe Theatre.

Repeating her role as Juliet alongside Joseph Fiennes' Romeo - which won her an Oscar for Shakespeare in Love in 1998 - she read her lines from a script because the scene had been chosen late in the day.

Afterwards her boyfriend, Coldplay's singer Chris Martin, said: "I really felt for her up there tonight. To perform sometimes can be a real overload for the senses. It can be so emotional.

"I held her when she came off stage and she was shaking. But it was the performance of a lifetime, she was amazing."

The actress herself admitted: "It was great to be back on stage, but I was really nervous beforehand. I enjoyed it and I'll possibly do some more theatre now."

The part was her first major role on stage or on film since the death of her father Bruce, 58, who collapsed as they celebrated her 30th birthday in Venice.

As recently as May, Gwyneth announced she was still so devastated by his death that she was unable to return to work.

This year, she dropped out of the comedy I Love Huckabee's, in which she would have starred alongside Jude Law and Dustin Hoffman. She also withdrew from Happy Endings, starring Ray Liotta. Her last role was in Ted And Sylvia, about Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes, in Cambridge last year. A close friend said recently: "She idolised her father and now she is feeling all the emotions of guilt that there was nothing she could do to save him."

But the strength of her relationship with Chris Martin - who has become the most highprofile rock star in Britain as frontman of the multi awardwinning Coldplay - appears to have helped her find her feet again. After last night's show the actress was introduced to Prince Charles. She said: "It was the first time I had met the Prince and he was absolutely lovely."

Paltrow's last theatre appearance was in the role of Catherine in Proof at the Donmar Warehouse in May last year, for which she won rave reviews.

She and Martin, who live in Belgravia and are notoriously private about their relationship, shunned a lavish banquet at the Underglobe restaurant after last night's show in favour of a low-key meal at an Italian restaurant.

The event raised an estimated £100,000 for The Prince's Trust and help disadvantaged young people in London.

Also performing favourite Shakespearean speeches last night were Dame Diana Rigg, Paul Scofield, Timothy West, Michael Pennington and Sanjeev Bhaskar.