Shazzer does not make much of an appearance in the book. She is the only one of Bridget's close friends to leave London, having moved to Silicon Valley to become a "dot-com whizz" with her husband.

In the movie, not much is revealed about Shazzer's relationship status but she's still living in London and hosts a podcast. Shazzer is still close with Bridget, and at one point she babysits her children for a night so she can go on a date.

Early in the film, Bridget's neighbor shouts at her three children and threatens to send them to "Squid Game" if they don't behave.

Bridget sees this from across the road and calls her a "hero," but the neighbor doesn't appear for the rest of the film.

In the book, Bridget and the woman, who is called Rebecca, have more awkward interactions like the one in the film. Rebecca, who has two children, and Bridget eventually become friends and host playdates for one another.

When Bridget falls for Mr. Wallaker in the book, Rebecca helps her learn about his background, since her husband is his best friend.

In both the book and the film, Bridget tries to get herself out of a rut by returning to work a few years after Mark's death.

In the film, Bridget asks her former boss, Richard Finch (Neil Pearson), to get her a job as a producer on the morning news show "Better Woman." Miranda, Bridget's coworker and friend in "Bridget Jones' Baby," hosts the show alongside another woman called Talitha.

In the book, Bridget doesn't return to full-time work. Instead, she writes a movie script, adapting a play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen called "Hedda Gabler." It's picked up by a studio, but they eventually replace Bridget with a full-time screenwriter because she is always distracted.

The film becomes a straight-to-DVD movie.

The film changes Bridget's relationship with her 29-year-old "toyboy" in a number of ways.

Instead of connecting with the charming, flirty Roxster McDuff (Leo Woodall) on Twitter as she does in the book, Bridget meets him when he rescues her and her children from a tree on London's Hampstead Heath. The two then reconnect when they match on a dating app.

In the book, their relationship ends after Roxster tells Bridget he thinks he should be with someone his own age. The two meet again and Roxster tries to win Bridget back.

In the film, Roxster suddenly ghosts Bridget without explanation, only to show up at the TV studio where she works weeks later to apologize.

But in both versions, Bridget realizes that the two are at different life stages and they have an emotional goodbye.

In the film, Daniel, the former playboy, has a teenage son named Enzo (Alessandro Bedetti), whom he doesn't see very often.

However, after being diagnosed with a heart murmur, Daniel reevaluates his life and decides to reconnect with him.

When we meet Enzo at Bridget's New Year's Eve party at the end of the film, he has inherited his father's womanizing ways, flirting outrageously with Bridget's friends.

In the book, Daniel doesn't have a son and is an aging bachelor. He does end up in hospital because of an alcohol dependency. Afterward, Bridget and others realize they need to prioritize their friendships with Daniel and keep an eye on him.

In both the film and the book, the health scare is a wake-up call for Daniel, but for different reasons.

In both the book and the film, Nicolette is the overbearing mother of twins who attend the same school as Bridget's son, Billy.

In the film, while Bridget is initially intimidated by Nicolette and her dedication to her children's education. But we see that her husband is a workaholic who is always on calls and her sons aren't as smart as she makes out.

The book delves deeper into Nicolette's story, revealing that her husband has been having an affair, and her world crumbles.

After Nicolette confides in Bridget, Bridget invites her over and the two spend a night drinking, eating junk food, and scrolling dating sites, cementing their unlikely friendship.

In the film, Bridget's nine-year-old son Billy (Casper Knopf) grieves his father's death and worries about forgetting him as he grows older.

His science teacher, Mr. Wallaker, eventually helps him work through this and perform a solo at the school's Christmas concert in honor of Mark.

This storyline is absent from the book, although Bridget does note in her diary entries that both Billy and Mabel were helped by an "army of bereavement counselors and therapists" in the aftermath of Mark's death.

When audiences first met Bridget in the 2001 movie, she was a single, 30-something Londoner whose New Year's resolution was to find a nice, sensible boyfriend.

Over the course of the four films, Bridget falls in love and marries human rights barrister Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), but her path to her happily ever after wasn't exactly straightforward.

When audiences meet Bridget again in "Mad About the Boy," she's single once again but raising two children.

After embarking on an ill-fated fling with Rockster McDuff (Leo Woodall), a man twenty years her junior, Bridget finds herself falling for the stern, straight-laced science teacher, Mr. Wallaker (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

The two share a kiss in the street following a school Christmas concert, and in the final scene of the film, Mr. Wallaker is among those seen ringing in the New Year with Bridget and her loved ones.

Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) is Bridget's former boss. As audiences will recall from the first film, after flirting via instant messaging in the office, the two embark on a relationship that ends sourly when Bridget finds out that Daniel is cheating on her with — as she put it — an "American stick insect."

While Bridget and Daniel reconnect in Thailand in the second film, "The Edge of Reason," he is absent in the third film.

When we see Daniel in "Mad About The Boy," he and Bridget have a platonic, teasing relationship, deepened by their decades of friendship. He is even referred to as "Uncle Daniel" by Bridget's children and babysits them.

Still a bachelor in his 50s, Daniel has a much younger girlfriend at the start of the film. Following a health scare, however, Daniel breaks up with her.

When audiences last see Daniel at Bridget's party, he and Bridget's colleague and friend Miranda (Sarah Solemani) have hit it off, to put it delicately.

In the first film, Darcy is introduced as a human rights lawyer who has known Bridget since she was a toddler, running around naked in his paddling pool.

While they made an unlikely couple, Bridget and Mark eventually get together.

However, it's revealed in "Mad About The Boy" that Mark was killed on a humanitarian mission in Sudan four years before the events of the film, leaving Bridget a widow and single mother.

As a result, Mark is mostly absent from the latest installment, except for a couple of scenes in which Bridget reminiscences about life before the tragedy.

Shazzer is Bridget's bold, feminist friend who doesn't fear confrontation. In the first film, Bridget introduces Shazzer (Sally Phillips) as a journalist who "likes to say 'fuck' a lot."

Shazzer's personality has not changed much since the first film, and she now hosts a feminist podcast. She is last seen celebrating New Year's at Bridget's house.

Another close friend of Bridget is Tom (James Callis) an arrogant, drama-loving retired '80s pop icon.

In the first film, Tom uses his one-hit-wonder status to get laid. By the final film, he has become a life coach and is still single.

Rounding off Bridget's close friends is Jude (Shirley Henderson), the most emotional member of the friendship group.

In the first film, Jude is the head of investment at Brightlings, a fictional bank, and cries on multiple occasions to Bridget about her relationship problems.

In "Mad About The Boy," Jude has leveled up at work, but Bridget is not sure whether she is a "COO" or "CEO."

Bridget has always been close with her father, Colin (Jim Broadbent), even after her he and mother briefly split during the first movie. But Bridget does not have Colin as her rock in "Mad About The Boy."

Partway through the film, a flashback scene reveals that Colin died a few years prior. Before his death, Colin tries to persuade Bridget to live life to the fullest after he's gone and not wallow in grief.

Toward the end of the film, Bridget writes in her diary that she realizes what Colin meant by this while watching her son, Billy, overcome his grief to give with a genuine smile at his school's Christmas concert.

Despite often despairing of her daughter's sartorial choices and approach to dating, Pamela (Gemma Jones) has stuck by Bridget's side throughout the films.

In "Mad About The Boy," she has moved into a nursing home, which Bridget and the rest of the family have been instructed to refer to as a "hotel," alongside her lifelong pal Una (Celia Imrie).

At the start of the movie, Bridget makes a New Year's resolution to lose weight, stop drinking and smoking, and find a "sensible boyfriend."

Zellweger's performance as Bridget was praised by fans and critics, and she earned an Oscar nomination for best actress at the 2002 Academy Awards.

Zellweger was already a recognized actor at the time of the first "Bridget Jones" movie, having starred in films like "Jerry Maguire."

After "Bridget Jones's Diary," she went on to earn an Oscar nomination for her performance as Roxie Hart in the film adaptation of the musical "Chicago."

Then, in 2004, Zellweger won her first Academy Award for her supporting role in the war drama "Cold Mountain." That same year, she also reprised her role as Bridget Jones for the sequel "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason."

After a string of poorly received films, Zellweger took a six-year acting hiatus from 2010 to 2016.

When costar Hugh Grant asked what prompted the break during a recent interview for British Vogue, Zellweger replied, "Because I needed to. I was sick of the sound of my own voice. When I was working, I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, listen to you. Are you sad again, Renée? Oh, is this your mad voice?' It was a regurgitation of the same emotional experiences."

Zellweger told Grant that she spent those years getting healthy and doing non-Hollywood things, like studying international law, building a house, and going on a cross-country road trip with her rescue dogs.

She returned to acting in 2016 with two films: the legal drama "The Whole Truth" with Keanu Reeves and "Bridget Jones's Baby," the third movie in the rom-com franchise.

A few years later, Zellweger won her second Oscar, for her portrayal of the legendary actor Judy Garland in the biopic "Judy."

Now, she's back as Bridget Jones in the fourth movie, "Mad About the Boy." The film follows the character as a mother of two and a widow since the death of her husband, Mark Darcy, four years earlier.

Bridget and Mark grew up together and reconnect at a holiday party years later. They're not attracted to each other, but as the movie progresses, they develop feelings for each other and go from enemies to lovers.

Firth reprised his role as Mark for "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason" and "Bridget Jones's Baby." In the latter movie, Bridget gave birth to their first child, a baby boy, and the couple finally got married.

His rom-com experience extends to the 2003 ensemble holiday movie "Love Actually" and two "Mamma Mia!" films released in 2008 and 2018.

The actor has also starred in action movies like the "Kingsman" franchise and family-friendly films like "Mary Poppins Returns."

A year after landing an Oscar nomination for his performance in "A Single Man," Firth won the Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of King George VI in "The King's Speech."

More recently, Firth starred in the film "Empire of Light" and the miniseries "The Staircase" and "Lockerbie: A Search for Truth." He earned Emmy nominations for "The Staircase" and "Conspiracy."

Daniel, the editor-in-chief at a publishing company, starts dating Bridget, a publicity assistant, early in the film. But the pair don't last long because Daniel is non-committal and cheats on Bridget.

The first "Bridget Jones" movie positions Mark and Daniel as Bridget's main love interests. She ultimately chooses Mark because he accepts her as she is.

In the '90s and early 2000s, Hugh Grant was widely recognized for starring in iconic rom-coms like "Four Weddings and a Funeral," "Notting Hill," "Love Actually," and the "Bridget Jones" movies.

But his recent filmography has been far more unpredictable.

Grant starred as a villain in the family-friendly movie "Paddington 2," had a cameo as Daniel Craig's on-screen partner in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," acted alongside Meryl Streep in the biopic "Florence Foster Jenkins," played another antagonist in "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," and portrayed an Oompa Loompa in "Wonka."

He's also a two-time Emmy nominee for his performances in "A Very English Scandal" and "The Undoing." For his role as Mr. Reed in the 2024 horror movie "Heretic," Grant earned his seventh Golden Globe nomination.

Grant was absent from the third "Bridget Jones" movie and told Variety that he felt his character "didn't belong." However, he returned for "Mad About the Boy" after writing some scenes for Daniel that enhanced the story.

Bridget's parents have been married for 35 years, but their relationship hits a rough patch in "Bridget Jones's Diary."

Broadbent was already an established actor when he first portrayed Bridget Jones's father. The same year that "Bridget Jones's Diary" was released, the actor starred in two major movies in his filmography: "Iris" and "Moulin Rouge!"

He landed an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for his supporting role in "Iris" and a BAFTA Award for his performance as Harold Zidler in "Moulin Rouge!"

Broadbent played a professor in the 2005 film adaptation of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," Dean Charlie Stanforth in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," and Professor Horace Slughorn in the "Harry Potter" franchise.

Like Grant, Broadbent is in the "Paddington" movies. He plays Mr. Gruber, the owner of an antique shop and Paddington's best friend.

He also appeared in a couple of episodes of HBO's hit fantasy series "Game of Thrones" during season seven and played the Duke of Leicester in the Prime Video breakout series "My Lady Jane."

Bored by her relationship with Mr. Jones, Pamela takes a job as the assistant to a man who has a cable show on a home shopping channel and has an affair with him. Mr. and Mrs. Jones later reconcile and renew their vows in the second film.

Jones played Madam Pomfrey in three "Harry Potter" films. She also portrayed Elton John's grandmother, Ivy, in the 2019 biopic "Rocketman," which starred Taron Egerton as the musician.

In 2015, she won a BAFTA TV Award for her supporting role in the TV movie "Marvellous."

Bridget's "urban family" consisted of three close friends, including Jude, who often gave practical advice.

A year after the first "Bridget Jones" movie was released, Henderson portrayed Moaning Myrtle, the ghost of a former student who haunts Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the second "Harry Potter" film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets." She reprised the role a few years later for "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

Henderson also voiced a droidsmith named Babu Frik in the 2019 movie "Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker" and is one of many actors who have guest-starred on the popular sci-fi series "Doctor Who." Additionally, she had a small role in Sofia Coppola's 2006 movie "Marie Antoinette."

Most recently, Henderson returned as Jude for "Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy."

She's a journalist who likes to curse a lot.

Since the first "Bridget Jones" film, Phillips has appeared in various shows and films, most notably the HBO series "Veep" and the 2016 action film "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies."

The actor is also an executive producer at the UK production company Captain Dolly, which she cofounded in 2020.

In 2016, Phillips, who has a son named Olly with Down's syndrome and autism, made the documentary "A World Without Down's Syndrome?"

She returned for all the "Bridget Jones" sequels, including the latest one.

Tom was an '80s pop icon who retired after being a one-hit wonder. Although his music career is dead, he still gets recognized in public for the record that made him famous nine years prior.

He first portrayed the character in the 2003 miniseries "Battlestar Galactica" and reprised the role for the re-imagined "Battlestar Galactica" series and the TV movie "Battlestar Galactica: Razor."

Callis has guest-starred on shows like "Arrow," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Rick and Morty," and "Star Trek: Picard."

In recent years, he has provided voice work for the Netflix animated series "Castlevania" and its spin-off show "Castlevania: Nocturne." Callis also appeared on season four of the Apple TV+ thriller show "Slow Horses," which stars Gary Oldman.

He reprises his role as Tom in "Mad About the Boy."

Zellweger, 55, returns for the fourth time to play every millennial's favorite hot mess, Bridget Jones.

For the London premiere, Zellweger wore a hot-pink strapless dress with a long train designed by Balmain.

Her boyfriend, Ant Anstead, attended the premiere as well but didn't walk the carpet.

After skipping "Bridget Jones's Baby" in 2016, Grant, 64, returns for "Mad About the Boy" to play Bridget's former boss (and former boyfriend), Daniel Cleaver.

Last we heard of him, Daniel had been found alive after being presumed dead in a plane crash, so we're sure his reappearance in Bridget's life was a (somewhat) welcome surprise.

Grant kept it simple at the London premiere with a black suit and white shirt — it's almost identical to what he wore at the premiere of the first film in 2001, per Entertainment Weekly.

Grant attended the premiere with his wife, Eberstein, who wore a white minidress trimmed with fringe on the sleeves and hem.

Ejiofor, 47, joins the "Bridget Jones" universe in this film as Roxster, one of Bridget's new love interests after the death of her soulmate Mark Darcy (Colin Firth).

At the London premiere, Ejiofor, an Oscar-nominated actor, wore a black suit over a navy shirt and tie.

Woodall is playing another one of Bridget's love interests, Mr. Wallaker, a teacher at her kids' school.

The 28-year-old is best known for his roles in the second season of "The White Lotus" and the Netflix series "One Day."

He walked the pink carpet in a corduroy brown suit and black shirt designed by Loewe.

His girlfriend and '"White Lotus" costar Meghann Fahy also attended the premiere but did not pose for photos.

Fisher, 48, is another new member of the "Bridget Jones" franchise. She's playing Rebecca, Bridget's new neighbor.

For the premiere, she wore a simple red dress designed by Marmar Halim.

Broadbent, 75, has been in all four "Bridget Jones" films as Bridget's father, Colin.

Jones, 82, plays Bridget's mother, Pamela, and has also appeared in all four films.

In the first "Bridget Jones" film, Pamela temporarily leaves her husband for a QVC host, but she returns home by the end of the film.

Callis plays one of Bridget's best friends, Tom, a musician who had one hit song in the '80s and has been able to support himself off that ever since.

The 53-year-old is also known for his roles in "Battlestar Galactica" and "Slow Horses."

On the pink carpet, he accessorized his black suit and overcoat with a tan scarf.

Henderson, 59, might be best known for playing Moaning Myrtle in the "Harry Potter" series, but she's also played Bridget's friend Jude in all four films.

She wore a black knee-length dress and black booties.

Parker, 20, plays the babysitter of Bridget's kids, Chloe. You might recognize Parker from her resemblance to her famous mother, Thandiwe Newton.

She wore a satin white dress designed by Chanel and uniquely shaped black heels.

Simon's role in "Mad About the Boy" has yet to be revealed, but the British actor is best known for her role in the '80s British sci-fi show "Blake's 7."

She wore a white dress with metallic silver pumps.

Farzad is playing another new character in "Mad About the Boy" named Nicolette.

She wore a magenta pantsuit with a brown belt.

Imrie, 72, has played Bridget's mom's best friend, Una, in all four films, including "Mad About the Boy."

She wore a black suit white with white satin lapels.

Solemani, 42, first joined the "Bridget Jones" franchise in the 2016 film "Bridget Jones's Baby" as one of Bridget's co-workers, Miranda, at the news station where she worked.

For the premiere, she wore a sheer black dress covered in black flowers with a black bodysuit underneath.

Fielding is the brain behind Bridget Jones. She wrote the original "Bridget Jones" columns in The Independent in 1995 and then three subsequent novels based on her columns.

Fielding, 66, also wrote the screenplays for all four "Bridget Jones" films.

For the premiere, Fielding wore a long-sleeved maroon gown with a daring slit and a keyhole cutout on top.

"Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy" was directed by Michael Morris, who made his directorial debut in 2023 with the film "To Leslie."