It's been eight years since everyone's favourite singleton Bridget Jones last graced our screens, and thankfully she's returning next year for one final instalment. Filming for Bridget Jones 4, based on Helen Fielding's third book Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, is well underway and Renee Zellweger has slipped right back into lovely, old Bridget's 'absolutely enormous' knickers.
For those who haven't read the book and want the fourth instalment to remain a surprise, look away now. And stay off social media until next February because it's littered with endless BTS pictures from the west London film set, which is great for our curiosity and probably a real nuisance for the cast and crew.
Regardless, we're excited to find out what Bridget Jones has been up to for the past eight years. Who is she dating? What happened to Mark Darcy? Is she still friends with Shazza, Jude and Tom? And why on earth is she back in touch with Daniel Cleaver?
When will Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy be released?
It has been confirmed that Mad About The Boy, the fourth Bridget Jones film, is out in cinemas on 14 February 2025 - aka Valentine's Day.
What is the plot of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy?
The fourth Bridget Jones film is based on the third book in Helen Fielding's series. Brace yourself, Bridget Jones is now a widow after her beloved husband Mark Darcy (who is played by Colin Firth in the films) passed away. She is forced to navigate life without him as she raises their two children, and begins to open herself up to dating again.
Of course, the book is called Mad About the Boy, which is a slight giveaway. Our Bridget falls for a younger man, and it's a foregone conclusion that said younger man is being played by heartthrob of the moment, Leo Woodall.
Can I watch the Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy trailer?
Sadly, there is not a trailer for Bridget Jones 4 just yet, but we will be sure to let you know as soon as it arrives.
Who is starring in the new Bridget Jones film?
Fans can expect to see many of their favourite characters reprised. Of course, Renee Zellweger is starring as Bridget Jones and Leo Woodall is playing her love interest, but we also know that her doctor from the last film, played by Emma Thompson, is returning. Then 12 Years A Slave actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and the Wedding Crashers star Isla Fisher have also joined the cast, as has fan favourite Hugh Grant, returning as the infamous Daniel Cleaver.
Is Colin Firth returning?
While we expect that Bridget's beloved Mark Darcy has died, as he does in the book, Colin Firth has been spotted filming scenes with Renee Zellweger. This comes as a blow to the production team who had hoped to keep it as a secret.
It looks like they bump into each other on a London street while Bridget is walking home and Mark gently brushes her cheek. Unfortunately, all signs currently suggest the scene is part of a dream sequence, given that the film is about Bridget navigating life as a widow.
However, it's likely that we will find out more information about Firth's not-so-secret role reprisal in the near future, because people seem to be watching the call sheet on the Bridget Jones set like hawks.
Is Hugh Grant returning?
On that note, yes! Hugh Grant is making a comeback in the 2025 film. He opted out of the third film Bridget Jones' Baby, leaving Firth to keep loyal fans happy as one of Bridget's love interests.
However, Daniel Cleaver is set to pop back up in the fourth instalment and do what he does best – cause chaos in Bridget's life. No doubt he will appear just as things start to calm down and she's happily dating someone new. We already know what her friends will have to say about it...
When asked about his role reprisal on a US chat show last year Grant simply said, 'I thought I was dead. I guess I'm not dead after all.' However, he has since revealed that he was swayed after reading the script.
In fact, Grant said he thinks it is ‘the best one’ of all the Bridget Jones films. ‘It is very moving as well as funny,’ he said recently. ‘It’s partly based on Helen Fielding’s experiences of bringing up two children by herself after her husband died. And so Bridget is bringing up two kids and wondering whether she should ever go back to dating. It’s a very good script... in fact, one of the best scripts I have read in a long time.’
Speaking to Graham Norton in October, he doubled down and said 'it's a good and moving script – it is extremely funny but very sad'. Of course, Daniel Cleaver is not supposed to be in the film (he's not in the book), but, for Grant, they've made an exception.
The actor added, 'So we didn’t have a 60-year-old Daniel Cleaver wandering around looking at young girls, I made up a good interim story for him.' We can't wait to see how it plays out...
When will we see pictures of Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones?
In July, a few pictures were leaked to the press of Grant on set. Daniel Cleaver is seen trotting around Hampstead in a suit before bumping into Bridget. He later puts his hand around her neck and seems to lean in for a kiss, before walking off and getting into a red sports car.
It sounds like classic Bridget and Daniel to us...
Who does Leo Woodall play?
Rumour has it Mad About the Boy is set four years after Mark Darcy's death and Bridget vows to 'keep buggering on' in the wake of her grief. If the film script stays close to the book, this is where we will find her. Enter Leo Woodall, who is believed to be playing Bridget's 30-year-old toy boy Roxster, who she meets on social media.
Meanwhile, 12 Years A Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor is rumoured to be playing Bridget's son's ruggedly handsome teacher, Mr Wallaker. In true Bridget Jones fashion, their meet-cute is when Bridget gets stuck up a tree and Mr Wallaker helps her get down.
Fans appear particularly delighted by the decision to cast 27-year-old Leo, however. He first found fame as Jack in season two of The White Lotus, a performance that was swiftly eclipsed when Netflix's adaptation of One Day came out in February. In this smash hit series, Leo played the chaotic but loveable Dexter Mayhew and the actor has since amassed more than one million followers on Instagram.
It's the perfect next step, then, for Leo to build on his dreamboat status and enter the world of Bridget Jones as her latest crush.
Who does Isla Fisher play?
Isla Fisher, who announced she was divorcing Sacha Baron Cohen after 14 years earlier this year, has also been spotted on the set of Bridget Jones. She is rumoured to play one of Bridget's friends and was seen wearing a pink dress, black knee-high socks and brown slip-on shoes.
A source told The Sun, 'Isla plays a single mother who befriended Bridget at the school gates. Isla loves Bridget Jones and is thrilled that she landed the part. Her own experience will help her in the role and it's great she's landed such a big part after a really tough time.'
Why was the Bridget Jones film delayed?
The fourth instalment has not been plain sailing. It's been reported that Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy faced a 'devastating' setback when a cast member was hospitalised after an off-set 'accident', stalling filming that was meant to be taking place at Petersham Nurseries in Richmond. Despite earlier reports that their recovery would delay the film's scheduled release date, this is not the case.
What happened at the end of the last film?
If all this talk of Bridget Jones has got you thinking about the last three films and made you want to cancel your plans so you can watch them all again, here's a reminder of how the third film ended.
At the end of Bridget Jones' Baby, time fast forwards a year and Bridget finally marries Mark – who it turns out is her son William's father after all. Her former love interest Jack (Patrick Dempsey) is a guest, showing no sign of resentment or jealousy and is happily playing with Mark and Bridget's baby at the wedding. It seems like, at long last, Bridget Jones found her happy ending.
Then the film ends with a newspaper headline revealing: 'Daniel Cleaver has been found alive'. Well, at least we know that bit is true.
How does Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy end?
*This paragraph contains potential film spoilers*
For those wanting to skip ahead, if the upcoming film does follow the plot of the book, then Bridget ends up with Mr Wallaker, who is played in the film by Chiwetel Ejiofor. He has two kids of his own and moves in with Bridget and her two kids, Billy and Mabel, after overcoming plenty of obstacles and break ups along the way. This is Bridget Jones after all.
Luckily, there's plenty of room for the six of them in Bridget's sizeable Hampstead Heath home (thanks to Mark's hefty life insurance, of course). She's also on better terms with her mother than ever, thanks to Pamela's unwavering support throughout the early stages of her grief. And she's still in touch with toy boy Roxster, though only for dating advice.
All in all, the book leaves Bridget in a hopeful place. If that's where the franchise is set to end, she could definitely do worse.
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia (treating high and lowbrow shows with equal respect).