Colin Firth fans can rejoice: Mark Darcy is to be reunited with Bridget Jones after all, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
When Firth’s name was missing from the cast list for the upcoming film about the world’s most famous bachelor, fans feared his character had been killed off. That was certainly his fate in Helen Fielding’s novels, in which he marries Bridget but dies while working abroad as a human rights lawyer.
In these exclusive photos from the set of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Renee Zellweger, who plays Jones, is seen affectionately interacting with her co-star Firth, 63. Wearing Darcy’s signature suit and tie, Firth tenderly places his hand on the cheek of his 55-year-old co-star, who is wearing an emerald green dress and leather boots.
Given that Fielding’s Mad About The Boy novel saw Bridget living as a widow four years after Darcy’s death, Firth’s return is a huge surprise, and one that film bosses were keen to keep under wraps. A source said: ‘Colin was definitely going to be in the film, but that would have to be kept under wraps.’
It’s not the first time the fictional diarist has been struck by tragedy. In the latest film, Bridget Jones’s Baby, she is seen at the memorial service for her other on-again, off-again love, Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant, who is presumed dead in a plane crash. He is later found alive.
Bridget Jones fans can rejoice, as favourite Mark Darcy (played by Colin Firth) will appear in the new installment.
In new exclusive photos from the set of Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, Colin Firth’s character is seen very much alive as he lovingly caresses Renee Zellweger’s face…or is he?
The novel, on which the script is based, follows Bridget as she learns to find her way in life, four years after the death of Mr. Darcy.
Fans will have to be patient to find out whether Darcy is that lucky, or whether he merely appears in a dream scene.
The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this year that Jones would face a three-way battle for her love: Cleaver, a much younger man called Rockstar, played by One Day star thief Leo Woodall, and the character Mr Walker, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave).
Bridget, now a mother of two, develops a crush on Mr Walker, who teaches gym at her son’s school, before turning her attention to the handsome Rockstar, whom she meets through social media.
The Mail on Sunday previously reported that Bridget will be giving up her famous bachelor pad in London’s Borough Market in favour of a family home in leafy Hampstead, North London, where so many scenes have been filmed in recent months.
The film, which is set for release on Valentine’s Day next year, also sees Bridget quitting her job in television to take the kids to school. Comedy scenes are expected as she struggles to keep up with the Yummy Mummies.
The character of Mark Darcy is said to have been inspired by Keir Starmer when he worked as a human rights lawyer in the 1990s, a rumour the new Prime Minister has never denied.
Bridget (played by Renee Zellweger) and Mr. Darcy (played by Colin Firth) come face to face in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
In the final film, Bridget Jones’s Baby, she is seen at the memorial service for her other on-again, off-again love Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant, who is presumed dead after a plane crash.
The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this year that Jones will face a three-way battle for her affections
Former flame Daniel Cleaver and a young man named Rockstar played by Leo Woodhall (pictured as Dexter in One Day) will compete for Bridget’s love