Coldplay book reveals Gwyneth Paltrow thinks English men are too apologetic

Coldplay roadie Matt McGinn has revealed the 38-year-old actress ' who is married to the band's frontman Chris Martin ' was surprised when he said sorry to her after making a joke about her then-boyfriend.

In an extract from his new book 'Roadie: My Life on the Road with Coldplay', he revealed: "Gwyneth asked me, 'Are you the Matt that plays guitar on 'Yellow'? Wow, I thought. A proper actress has heard of me. 'Yeah, that's right'. 'Well, it sounds great!' Bless her. I was lost for a moment, so ' for better or worse ' I decided to act cocky, since the only alternative would have been to go bright red.

"It was a big gamble, but I went with, 'Cheers. So, do you think I play it better than your boyfriend?' It hit the spot; she laughed. 'Afterwards I felt a bit guilty for throwing a nice compliment back in her face, and said sorry a few days later; but she brushed it off and asked, 'Why are English guys always apologising?' '

Matt has nothing but praise for Gwyneth ' who now has two children, Apple, six, and Moses, four, with Chris - and says the Oscar-winning star is "just a normal girl".

He added: "Obviously, when I got home and saw my pals again for a pint, one of the first things they asked was, 'Well then, did you meet Gwyneth? What's she like? Yeah I did. And she's great. She's just a normal girl, really. Well, except for the rock star husband."