Bridget Jones's Baby director Sharon Maguire on why Renee Zellweger is thinner this time round

'We all really loved the notion that Bridget, 15 years on, had finally reached her ideal weight'

As anyone who has seen either of the Bridget Jones films will tell you, the titular character isn’t meant to be supermodel size.

However, Renee Zellweger looks decidedly slender in the upcoming Bridget Jones’s Baby, looking as spectacular as she did in 2002’s Chicago.

According to the director, Sharon Maguire, they are not ignoring the character’s roots, but the weight change reflects on where she is in life as a single 43-year-old.

“We all really loved the notion that Bridget, 15 years on, had finally reached her ideal weight… somewhere between a UK size 10 or 12 … but still hadn’t solved any of her issues about love and loneliness,” Maguire told Entertainment Weekly.

“I think that one of the reasons the first film worked was not just because of the comedy but because people identified with Bridget’s fear of loneliness.

“It’s a universal fear. It’s still a prominent theme in the character’s journey even in the third film, and an integral point of access for the audience to empathise with Bridget.”

Throughout her time as Bridget Jones, Zellweger has been criticised on numerous occasions for either being too thin or putting on too much weight.

“She’s lovely in this and does take it really seriously. She puts a lot into that and cares deeply about how she’s presenting herself,” explained producer Debra Hayward.

“She is kind of every woman, Bridget. You do want to look at her and see yourself reflected back in her in some way.

“What I love about the stories, it’s quite bold to tell a story about a slightly older woman. I just love that it’s kind of got a sort of maturity about it, as a love story, as a romantic comedy.”

The three principle cast members from the movie feature on the most recent EW front cover, revealing the love triangle between Zellweger, Collin Firth and newcomer Patrick Dempsey.

In the film, Bridget is unsure which one of her lovers is the father of her baby.

Bridget Jones's Baby is out 22 April in the UK.