Helen Fielding’s beloved, big-knickered heroine, Bridget Jones, was officially unveiled as the newest star to join London’s iconic ‘Scenes in the Square’ trail on Monday, November 17th. Capturing Bridget in her “perfectly imperfect glory,” the new dynamic statue is located in Leicester Square, the home of film and entertainment, where she now stands shoulder to shoulder with screen legends like Harry Potter, Batman, and Mary Poppins. The momentous unveiling was attended by Renée Zellweger herself, alongside her co-stars from the latest franchise instalment, Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy, including Sally Phillips, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Leo Woodall. Author Helen Fielding and director Michael Morris were also present to witness Bridget become an everlasting part of London’s cinematic history.
Bridget first burst onto the cultural scene with the era-defining novel Bridget Jones’s Diary, followed by the blockbuster 2001 film. She was a cultural supernova, obliterating the Jane Austen-esque archetype of the perfect ingenue by being kind, smart, relatable, and utterly flawed—loving a cocktail, swearing like a sailor, and struggling with love. As Zellweger commented, it is an “honour” that the mark Bridget has left on the city will now be “everlasting.” The decision to add Bridget comes just in time for the 25th anniversary year of the first film and is a fitting toast to a true British cultural icon whose franchise has earned a massive $900 million worldwide, continuing to break convention and set box office milestones.
The new statue is particularly significant as Bridget Jones is the first character from a romantic comedy to be featured in the ‘Scenes in the Square’ collection. Kirsty Tullett-Jones, Director of Marketing & Communications for Discover Leicester Square, noted that with action, adventure, and horror already represented, it was “about time we added a Rom Com statue to the line up.” Director Michael Morris perfectly summed up the sentiment, calling the statue “the perfect love letter to her and to everyone who’s ever cheered her on.” Helen Fielding, meanwhile, hopes “Bridget’s Mummy Pants will ensure a sleek silhouette” for the new bronze figure, encouraging everyone to raise a glass of Chardonnay to being “just as you are.”
For the latest information, visit: https://leicestersquare.london/whats-on/scenes-in-the-square.
