Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton split after 13 years together

The director Tim Burton and actress Helena Bonham Carter have gone their separate ways after over a decade together.

Carter's rep told People magazine: "We would ask that you respect their privacy and that of their children during this time."

The couple first met when Burton directed Carter in the film Planet of the Apes in 2001.

They went on to work together on Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd, Alice In Wonderland and Dark Shadows.

They were known for their unconventional living arrangements, never marrying and residing in two adjoining houses in Belsize Park, London.

They have an 11-year-old son, Billy and daughter Nell, aged seven.

Rumours of Burton's infidelity surfaced after a very grainy photo appeared in the New York Post that reportedly showed the British director kissing another woman after a cinema date in Hampstead in 2013.

But Carter defended her partner saying: "This is absolute nonsense. The pictures were taken whilst they were out and the large group includes family, friends and work colleagues."

They frequently worked together, although Burton admitted they often had a tempestuous relationship on set, especially during the making of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2007.

He said, "We've survived [as a couple], but it hasn't always been easy. Sweeney Todd was the worst; definitely the worst. But then I found out she was pregnant with Nell and it kind of all made sense."

Helena Bonham Carter as Hermione in Harry Potter