The ever-hapless Bridget Jones finds herself trapped in a tree in the next installment of the hit film series, but luckily a handsome young park ranger is on hand to rescue her.
These exclusive images show One Day heartthrob Leo Woodall in character as Rockstar, the toyboy love interest of Renee Zellweger’s alter ego, for the first time, as he helps her out of her situation. But not without taking a look at her butt while she does it.
Ms Zellweger’s character finds herself in a bind after climbing the tree in search of a stranded child during a family trip to Hampstead Heath in north London.
Bridget Jones, played by Renee Zellweger, found herself in a difficult situation during a trip to London’s Hampstead Heath with her young children.
Mrs. Zellweger laughs out loud after climbing down from the tree during the filming of the new film.
Leo Woodall’s character, Bridget’s Rockstar toymaker, offers to help her get her down from the tree.
His character is caught staring at Bridget’s butt as she gracelessly climbs down from the branches.
Leo Woodall, one of the stars of the hit series One Day, wears a green t-shirt and matching trousers – the uniform of the park keepers on Hampstead Heath.
Woodall, 27, donned a park attendant’s branded green T-shirt and matching pants for the scenes, filmed Thursday. He was also seen filming a conversation with the child actor who plays Bridget’s young son, Billy, in the film, titled Mad About The Boy.
The scene recalls the moment in the first film, 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary, when the television journalist’s character slides down a fire station pole.
Ms. Zellweger and Woodall were seen filming the upcoming movie Mad About the Boy last Thursday.
Co-star Chiwetel Ejiofor and Woodall appear to laugh at Ms. Zellweger while her character is stuck in the branches.
One onlooker on Hampstead Heath said: “Leo and Renee looked like they were having a great time.” There was a lot of laughter, they seemed to get along very well.’
The fictional love interest was also seen talking to Bridget’s two children after rescuing their mother from the tree.
In the new film, Bridget enjoys an affair with Rockstar and PE teacher Mr Walker, played by 12 Years a Slave actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, as well as rekindling her on-off relationship with Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver and
Ejiofor, 46, was also seen filming scenes on the same day last week, meaning only Grant and Colin Firth, who has a small role in the film as the late Mark Darcy, have yet to be seen in their characters.
Woodall hugs the young actress who plays Bridget’s daughter, who is dressed extravagantly in leopard-print pants, a tutu and cat ears.
The actor rose to fame for his starring role in Netflix’s One Day, but also appeared in The White Lotus.
Mrs. Zellweger appears uncomfortable in the harness as she prepares to climb the tree.
One viewer said: ‘Leo and Renee looked like they were having a great time. There was a lot of laughter and they seemed to get along very well.’
Zellweger, 55, has been busy since arriving in London two weeks ago to reprise her role as the Bachelorette for the fourth, and likely final, time.
The protagonists laugh with the team and Mrs. Zellweger hugs her fictional children.
Bridget Jones has a reputation for being clumsy and inelegant at times, and it seems like nothing has changed
A smiling Mrs. Zellweger hugs the tree, dressed in blue jeans, a shirt and a sweater for the scene.
The crew and co-star Woodall watch as the 55-year-old descends from the tree in a harness.
She spent four days filming at ITV studios in White City, west London, where shows such as This Morning and Loose Women are made. There she met the hosts of both shows, including Cat Deeley, who was said to be “super excited” to see Ms. Zellweger. Many studio employees were “overwhelmed with emotion” and desperate to take selfies with the Hollywood star when they realized the film was being filmed at their workplace.
The scenes were filmed on the set used by Ant McPartlin and Declan Donnelly for their now-defunct show Saturday Night Takeaway, while Loose Women audience members were also asked to stay behind to film some scenes.
It’s Zellweger’s fourth time returning to the screen as beloved bachelorette Bridget Jones, based on the books by Helen Fielding.
Ejiofor, who plays PE teacher Mr Walker, was also filming scenes on the same day.
The tree scene recalls the moment in the first film, 2001’s Bridget Jones’s Diary, when Bridget slides down a fire station pole during a stint as a television journalist.
An ITV source said: “It was chaos, imagine Bridget coming to your work.” It was literally a dream come true. The place was absolutely packed. Word spread so fast, Cat was so excited.
Bridget creator Helen Fielding was also seen on set as she prepares to say goodbye to the beloved character. The film will be released on Valentine’s Day next year.
Last month it was revealed that Bridget’s obsession with losing weight will be “downplayed” in the film for fear she could be a bad influence.