A judge has refused to postpone the courtroom battle of Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas against Hello! magazine over their wedding photos.

The ruling at London's High Court means the Hollywood couple will miss the first week of the hearing.

The stars had requested a further delay because they both have prior commitments to fulfil.

Zeta Jones, 33, and Douglas, 58, are suing Hello! over unauthorised wedding pictures which appeared in the magazine, scuppering the "exclusive" �1m deal they had with rival OK!

They are suing Hello! for �2m for stress, loss of income and damage to their professional careers because of the poor quality of the photos.

The preliminary hearing was told Douglas would be in Sierra Leone carrying out work on behalf of the United Nations and Zeta Jones would be in Berlin for the premi�re of her film Chicago at the start of the trial.

The couple were originally offered �200,000 by Hello!

Michael Tugendhat QC, acting for the couple, said: "Mr Douglas wishes to be with his wife in London when she gives evidence, not simply because she is his wife and is seven months pregnant.

"They never wanted this to be a money claim but the alternative is no claim and so they have chosen a money claim.

Together

"It is nonetheless a claim which touches them on a personal level and there is no doubt that they will attract publicity, not all of it friendly.

"It is of great importance to them that they go through this together."

The start of the trial has already been delayed twice, causing judge Sir Andrew Morritt to throw out the request for a further postponement and it will begin on 3 February.

Sir Andrew said the first week would probably be taken up by administration, meaning the couple could still appear together the following week.

On Monday he dismissed a plea from the couple's legal team to prevent the magazine's defence being heard.

The couple's lawsuit follows a landmark ruling by the Court of Appeal, which for the first time recognised that celebrities have rights to privacy.

Zeta Jones' wedding cost over �1m

Hello! had tried to win the rights for exclusive coverage of the wedding, offering �200,000.

Wedding privacy

This was turned down in favour of an offer from its rival OK!, which had made a �1m deal with the couple.

Hello! published three days earlier than OK! with its own "exclusive" photographs of the stars, sparking the court action.

The couple won a High Court order banning further sales of the edition, but this was lifted by the Court of Appeal.

The couple then decided to seek damages from the magazine, with the Court of Appeal also ruling that they were likely to be able to prove at trial that publication of the photographs should not have been allowed.

The couple's wedding was held at the Grand Ballroom of the New York Plaza Hotel and was reported to have cost between �1.2m and �1.5m