Helena Bonham Carter - Helena Bonham Carter is a skilled pickpocket

Helena Bonham Carter is a skilled pickpocket

Helena Bonham Carter is a ''pretty good'' pickpocket.

The 46-year-old actress - who has children Billy, nine, and Nell, four, with partner Tim Burton - has mastered the technique of removing items from a person without them noticing thanks to her role in forthcoming musical 'Les Miserables'.

She explained to the Daily Mail newspaper: ''It's all down to 'Les Miserables'. I'm playing Madame Thenardier. She's a bad sort and I learned how to pickpocket. I'm pretty good at it.

''Not quite a talent ... maybe a sideline. I can tell what's in there.''

The actress then went on to correctly identify the make of mobile phone her interviewer was carrying in a tuxedo breast pocket and successfully pointed out where he was keeping his wallet and BlackBerry communications device.

The Hollywood star credited her long-term partner Tim Burton with making her cool this week.

Helena - who has two children, Billy, eight, and Nell, four, with her partner of 11 years - thinks she became more interesting when she got together with the 'Frankenweenie' director.

Helena said: ''Being called mystical is nice. But I think we have also had a hell of a lot of other things said about us like messy, badly dressed, that sort of thing. I remember they put me on a cover once and there was this whole article about how uncool and unhip I was!

''But that was before I met Tim. Obviously now he has showered me with coolness. Together we are the 'slightly bonkers couple'.''