How did the Bridget Jones phenomenon start:

A. Bridget Jones' Diary actually started off as a spoof column in the The Independent�newspaper. The idea�for the column was thought up by the then features editor Charles Leadbeater. He commissioned another journalist colleague Helen Fielding to write it. The column proved so successful that�Fielding decided to turn it into a novel. The book, which was first published in 1997, has so far sold over four million copies�the world over and its success led to the film.

�

Q. What is the film/book about

Bridget Jones, of course. In her diary, Bridget chronicles the trials and tribulations of her daily attempts to reach her goal in life: to secure herself a Mr Right.

�

Q. Did Fielding script the film

Richard Curtis, of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, and Andrew Davies wrote the script in cooperation with Fielding.

�

Q. Who is starring in the film

Texan Renee Zellweger is playing Bridget and Hugh Grant and Colin Firth play her love interests.

�

Q. So,, why was the quintessentially English Bridget played by an American

Apparently she was the best person for the job. The film's director Sharon Maguire, says: ' No one was more surprised than me to cast an American, but she was just right for the role. I don't think I made the wrong decision.' The film is released across the country on 13 April so you can make your own mind up on this then.

�

Q. I've heard the director is a mate of the author's is this true

Yes, Maguire is a good friend of Fielding and actually gave her the inspiration for one�of the characters: Shazzer, Bridget's sarcastic friend.

�

Q. Any more commercial spin offs on the way

Yes, Fielding is�launching a Bridget Jones text messaging service with Finnish wireless entertainment service Riot Entertainment. Subscribers will receive daily messages from the fictional star on her daily activities - dieting, her love life and career.

�

Q. Has Fielding written any other books

Yes, she has written the sequel to Bridget Jones' diary Edge of Reason and her first novel Cause Celebre is about a young women experiencing relationship problems.

�

Then there's the official film website

�

To ask more Film & TV related questions, click here

�

By Anna Tobin