Renée Zellweger is finally back as the iconic Bridget Jones and as much as we're big Bridget fans, the character has also taught her a lot too.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy catches up with Bridget as she's now a widowed mother of two, following Mark Darcy's (Colin Firth) death on a humanitarian mission in the Sudan four years ago.
But with the support of her best friends and former lover Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), Bridget gets back onto the dating scene. And, because it's Bridget Jones, nothing ever quite goes to plan – and that's exactly what Zellweger enjoys about her.
"I think a lot of people who find her relatable. She inspires me, she's authentically herself, and as much as she self-scrutinises, she's not self-conscious," Zellweger told Digital Spy.
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"She's not thinking about what she looks like all the time. She's messy and that's okay, and she doesn't get it right and that's okay.
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"Even though the execution isn't always perfect in her planning, she still triumphs. Who doesn't find her inspiring? I do."
It's been more than eight years since the release of Bridget Jones's Baby, and as much as the accent helps Zellweger get into character again, there's another key aspect of the pre-production phase that helps her reunite with Bridget.
"Moving to London is super helpful and when we start the rehearsal process and the gang is all round, she starts to show up a little bit at a time," she explained.
Related: Bridget Jones 4 runtime confirms it as the longest movie yet
The new movie has been described as the "final chapter" of the Bridget Jones series, but Zellweger previously revealed that it might not be the end.
"Hopefully [author Helen Fielding] might spark to something and want to share something through the Bridget character again down the line," she said, adding that she'll "never be done" with Bridget.
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is released in UK cinemas and on Peacock in the US on February 13.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn
