Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy sees Bridget (Renée Zellweger) doing her best to get back to living after a personal tragedy, and her journey takes her to different places inside and outside the city. The Bridget Jones movie series has now joined the trend of long-awaited sequels with a fourth movie, arriving almost a decade after Bridget Jones’s Baby. Directed by Michael Morris, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Helen Fielding, and reunites the audience with Bridget, four years after Mark Darcy’s (Colin Firth) death.
Bridget is encouraged by her friends, including Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant), to start dating again and go back to work, and that’s exactly what she does. Bridget meets 29-year-old Roxster (Leo Woodall), with whom she starts a relationship despite their age difference. In the process, Bridget also meets Mr. Walliker (Chiwetel Ejiofor), her son’s science teacher who, although strict, is of great help to her family. Throughout Mad About the Boy, Bridget goes to different places in the city and beyond, and as it turns out, she’s no longer a South Londoner.
Bridget Jones’ House Is Located In Hampstead
Bridget & Her Family’s House Is A Hampstead Beauty
Bridget and her children, Billy and Mabel, live in a very cozy home where they have had to adapt to life without Darcy. The house keeps the same charm as Bridget’s famous apartment from the previous movies, but she changed locations and she now lives in Hampstead. Morris told Time Out that shooting in Hampstead was “fabulous” and “everywhere you look is beautiful”, but admitted that shooting was tricky due to Hampstead’s narrow streets.
The Bar Daniel First Appears In Is In Hammersmith
Meet The Hope & Anchor Pub
Daniel Cleaver makes his first appearance in Mad About the Boy when he’s at a pub, listening to his current girlfriend/lover’s poems. This scene was sH๏τ at the Hope & Anchor pub in Hammersmith, which, as Morris describes it, has a perfectly preserved vintage look, reminiscent of the 1920s/1930s. However, this isn’t a location that fans of Bridget Jones can properly visit, as it has been closed for years, but it looks like it’s available for any movie that needs to be sH๏τ there.
Bridget & Friends Go To The Old Queens Head & The Spaniards Inn
Bridget Goes To Iconic Places
At different points throughout Mad About the Boy, Bridget and her friends visit some pubs. First is the Old Queens Head on EsSєx Road, built in 1830 and said to be haunted by a woman and a girl in Tudor clothes – luckily, neither Bridget nor her friends had any supernatural experiences there. The bar they all go to near the end of Mad About the Boy is The Spaniards Inn, between Hampstead and Highgate. This one isn’t haunted, but it’s so famous that it was mentioned in Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Charles Dickens’ The Pickwick Papers.
Bridget Proudly Walks Down The Tower Bridge
One Of The First Scenes With A Happy Bridget
When Bridget finds the strength to get her life together and go back to work, she has a big moment of joy as she walks down a very busy bridge. This is the Tower Bridge, and according to Morris, they sH๏τ a happy Bridget on the bridge for two hours on a Sunday morning, with hundreds of background actors to show how busy it is, but also how Bridget stands out with her sweet and radiant smile.
Bridget’s Work Scenes Were SH๏τ At The Television Centre
Bridget Is Back As A TV Producer
It’s unclear when and why Bridget stopped working, but the encouragement of Dr. Rawlings (Emma Thompson) leads her to call her old colleagues and get her job as a TV producer back. The scenes of Bridget hard at work on set and behind the scenes were sH๏τ at the Television Centre (formerly known as BBC Television Centre) at Shepherd’s Bush, which has been home to shows like The Graham Norton Show and The Jonathan Ross Show.
Bridget & Roxster Meet At Hampstead Heath
Bridget Chose A Great Place To Get Stuck In A Tree
Bridget and Roxster meet when Billy and Mabel are stuck in a tree and Bridget tries to help them, only to get stuck herself. Mr. Walliker happens to be in the area, but the real rescuer is Roxster. The old oak is located on Hampstead Heath, and according to Morris, they had to get special permission from the Hampstead Park Service to shoot Bridget and Roxster’s one-of-a-kind meet-cute. No trees were harmed during the shooting of this scene.
Bridget & Roxster’s First Date Took Place At Borough Market & Portobello Road
Two Different Places, One Sequence
After Roxster finds Bridget on Tinder, they start talking and eventually meet for a first date. This takes place at the Borough Market in Southwark, and it’s one of the largest and oldest food markets in London. This place also appeared in Bridget Jones’s Diary, so it’s a nice nod to one of Bridget’s most iconic scenes (the bunny costume one). However, they end up at Electric Dinner in Portobello Road, as Morris wanted the scene of Roxster and Bridget sitting at the bar to have depth on both sides.
Roxster’s Swimming Pool Scene Was SH๏τ At Petersham House
Perhaps Mad About The Boy’s Most Famous Scene
In a scene that Bridget Jones’ fans might never forget, Roxster throws himself into the pool at Talitha’s (Josette Simon) party to rescue her puppy, and that’s his big introduction to Bridget’s friends and colleagues. Roxster’s grand entrance was sH๏τ at Richmond’s Petersham House, which, according to Morris, is open to the public for just one day in April, and it’s an opportunity not to be missed.
The School Trip Took Place At Lake District
Bridget & Mr. Walliker Led The Group
It can’t be a Bridget Jones movie without her getting unintentionally involved in something big. This time, Bridget ends up being signed to accompany Billy’s class on a school trip, led by Mr. Walliker. This is a trip through nature, and not even her many slips can bring Bridget’s spirit down. These scenes in Mad About the Boy were sH๏τ in Lake District in Cumbria, a place that has been mentioned in many works of literature, among them Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. The cabin is also real, and it’s the Old Brandlehow Barn near Derwentwater.
Billy’s Song At The School Concert Was SH๏τ At The Normansfield Theatre
A Key Moment In Billy & Bridget’s Story
Mr. Walliker helps Billy with his grief by helping him prepare a song at the school’s concert, and it’s the song Darcy used to sing to him and Mabel. This emotional scene was sH๏τ at the Normansfield Theatre, in Teddington, built in 1877 and which has been used in shows like Downton Abbey and Bridgerton.
Source: Time Out.