Helen Fielding: The creator of Bridget Jones

18 snips

Oct 16, 2025

Helen Fielding, renowned author and journalist, shares the delightful backstory of Bridget Jones, the iconic character she created. She reveals how Bridget was born from a need for anonymity and comic exaggeration in her weekly column. The infamous blue soup anecdote showcases real-life inspirations behind Bridget’s quirky diary entries. Fielding discusses the character's evolution across books and films, highlighting why her relatable struggles still resonate with today’s audiences, including Gen Z.

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ANECDOTE

Origin Of Bridget Jones

Helen Fielding invented Bridget Jones after refusing to write a personal column and deciding to 'make someone up'.
She used a colleague's silhouette photo to avoid exposing herself and launched the anonymous diary column.

ANECDOTE

From Real Life To Comic Diary

The first Bridget Jones column recorded comic daily details like weight, alcohol units and missed calls, drawn from Fielding's life.
Helen exaggerated real incidents into comic misadventures, such as the blue soup episode.

ANECDOTE

The Blue Soup Mishap

Helen describes cooking vichyssoise with blue string and ending up with blue soup, which became a memorable Bridget mishap.
The blue soup scene translated directly into Bridget's comic persona and became iconic.

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In 1995, a single 30-something woman with big knickers and blue soup first appeared in a weekly column, published by British newspaper The Independent.

Initially written anonymously by journalist Helen Fielding, Bridget Jones quickly became a cultural icon, as she tried to make sense of life and love.

The book, Bridget Jones’s Diary, became a best-seller in 1996 and the character has gone on to feature in three more books and four films.

Although, some people don’t agree with Bridget’s obsession with her size and men, her relatability is a hit with many.

Bridget’s creator Helen Fielding looks back, with Megan Jones, at how one column, published 30 years ago, turned into a cultural phenomenon.

Clips featured in the programme are from the film, Bridget Jones's Diary. The production companies behind it were Working Title Films, Universal Pictures, Miramax and StudioCanal. It was directed by Sharon Maguire.

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(Photo: Helen Fielding at a book signing. Credit: Fred Duval/FilmMagic)