Leo Woodall stars in the new Bridget Jones movie – and this is the book it’s based on

Eight years on from Bridget Jones’s Baby, our favourite hapless heroine is back in the new movie Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy.

The latest instalment will see the return of Renee Zellweger in the leading role and Hugh Grant as the lothario Daniel Cleaver. Emma Thompson will also be reprising her role as Dr Rawlings alongside two newcomers: 12 Year’s A Slave’s Chiwetel Ejiofor and Leo Woodall. Fresh off the latter actor’s role in One Day, there’s speculation he could play Bridget’s love-interest in the new movie (we can’t wait).

But one star is notably missing from the line-up. Having appeared in all three movies in the franchise, Colin Firth’s character Mark Darcy won’t be returning in Mad About The Boy. The book’s author Helen Fielding has previously said that she decided to write him out of the third title in her series as she didn’t want Bridget to be a “smug married” type.

Published in 2013, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy revisits Bridget as a widow in her 50s following Mark’s death in a landmine accident two years prior. While we don’t yet know how much the movie will align with the book’s plot, its US release date has been set for Valentine’s Day 2025.

If you can’t wait for the new Bridget Jones movie, we’ve got all the details on the book it’s based on below – plus, how to read the whole series in chronological order.

‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ by Helen Fielding, published by Picador

A book that needs little introductin, the first in the series was published in 1996 and became an instant international bestseller. Written in the form of a personal diary, the novel evolved from Fielding’s Bridget Jones’s Diary columns in The Independent and The Daily Telegraph. Roughly based on Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, it follows Bridget as she navigates her love life over the course of a year in two romantic relationships.

The first is with her charming and handsome boss – and famous womanise –Daniel Cleaver. Her second is with an old childhood playmate and slightly uptight human rights barrister Mark Darcy.

As she navigates her chaotic dating life, Bridget convenes with her three best friends, Shazzer, Jude and Tom, over (many) bottles of chardonnay. Funny, relatable and expertly capturing the zeitgeist of being a woman in your Twenties, it’s a classic of the comedy genre.

Buy now £9.19, Amazon.co.uk

‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’ by Helen Fielding, published by Picador

The second book in the series, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason sees the main character depart Notting Hill for Thailand on a journey of self-discovery. Still working as a TV host and dating Mark Darcy, Bridget begins to feel jealous and paranoid about the time Mark spends with his younger, attractive co-worker, Rebecca.

In the wake of their eventual break-up, Bridget accepts a freelance assignment in Rome, before joining her friend Shazza on holiday in Thailand. In classic Jones style, chaos ensues in South East Asia, involving charming men on planes, stolen money and many misunderstandings.

Buy now £9.19, Amazon.co.uk

‘Bridget Jones’s Baby: The Diaries’ by Helen Fielding, published by Picador

Unlike the other books in the series, Bridget Jones’s Baby was published after the 2016 movie adaptation was released. Chronologically, it’s the third book in the series.

The novel follows Bridget accidentally falling pregnant and not knowing who the father is. Of course, the two candidates are the honourable and kind Mark Darcy and the witty but womanising Daniel Cleaver. As she rushes towards the baby-deadline while mediating the hatred the two men have towards each other, the comedy tome explores the havoc, pregnancy and childbirth in Jones’s familiar voice.

Buy now £9.19, Amazon.co.uk

‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ by Helen Fielding, published by Picador

The fourth book in the series and the latest to be adapted for the big screen, Mad About The Boy follows Bridget as she grapples with single motherhood in the wake of Mark Darcy’s death in a landmine accident. Set nearly 20 years on from the first novel, both the cultural and sexual landscapes are vastly different, with Bridget now contending with the internet, texting and Botox.

Beginning four years after Mark’s death, any moments of darkness are balanced with brevity as Jones returns to the much-changed dating scene. Just as characteristically hapless and clumsy as she was in her Twenties, it’s a rollicking story of a woman in midlife navigating both dating and motherhood in the internet age. We can’t wait to see how it will be adapted for the screen – roll on 2025.

Buy now £9.19, Amazon.co.uk

Need more reading inspiration? Check out our round-up of this season’s must-read novels

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