Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy has been billed as the fourth and final film in the series – but its star Renée Zellweger says she has her “fingers crossed” that is not the case.
Zellweger has played our favourite hapless heroine for more than 20 years and seems as attached to her as ever, calling the character an “old friend”.
Speaking at the film’s premiere in London’s Leicester Square on Wednesday evening, the actress says she is “in denial” and “it hasn’t sunk in yet” that the franchise may be coming to a close.
Bridget’s love interests in the film are brand new characters. One Day’s Leo Woodall plays her Tinder match who at 29 is (cough) a little younger than 51 year old Bridget. Bafta winner, Chiwetel Ejiofor, plays a buttoned-up teacher Bridget encounters on the school run and a rain-soaked class trip.
Renée Zellweger says the film is a “beautiful story and really the most personal for Helen. She is sharing about her own experiences about loss, grief and finding new happiness, it’s a pretty special one”.
Helen Fielding, author of the Bridget Jones novels, says she is “really touched” that Gen Z have also embraced the character. “They’re the first generation who have lived through a world crisis for ages. They’re very similar to Bridget in their emotional fragility, their ability to share and cry on TikTok”.
The new film sees Bridget living as a widow, becoming a single mother and tackling modern dating. The story is partially inspired by Fielding’s own loss. Her husband, Kevin Curran, died in 2016.
Rumours have long been circulating that the character of human rights barrister Mark Darcy was based on barrister turned prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. Fielding neither confirms nor denies this, saying only that if you look at early pictures of Colin Firth in the film and pictures of Keir Starmer in a wig, they’re awfully similar.
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