Keep it in the family

PEOPLE WARNED model Kate Moss that her romance with the singer-songwriter Pete Doherty was dangerous. They were probably worried about his drug addiction. But what is proving a threat to Kate is the explosion of media coverage that has greeted their liaison, much of it focusing on the wild ways of the model's loyal circle of celebrity friends.

Moss has always been secretive about her private life, has never given interviews and has relied on the loyalty of adoring friends to ensure that her unconventional lifestyle remains a mystery. Doherty, on the other hand, has lived his life like an open book, not only writing autobiographically, but also offering access all areas to the media and posting a running commentary of private thoughts on the internet.

Among all the gossip and innuendo that have been published, though, one detail says more about the way we live today than any other. The Daily Mirror yesterday ran a double-page graphic illustrating "Kate's Web of Celebs". It used colour-coded arrows to show the different sorts of relationships.

Interestingly, red denoted a "sex-and-love" relationship, while green denoted a "family" relationship. Only two sets of people got green - the Appleton sisters and the Gallagher brothers. Yet, the listed people had had many children with listed partners and former partners. Marriage, and shared parenthood, very sadly, are not considered by the Mirror to be a family relationship.

I've heard of marriage-wrecking, of course. But this is ridiculous.