The workplace dalliance between Bridget Jones and her dashing boss Daniel Cleaver captured hearts in the beloved 2001 rom-com Bridget Jones’s Diary. But two decades later, stars Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant acknowledge their characters’ steamy office romance would raise eyebrows—and likely earn them a trip to HR.
“I’m sure HR would have some stern rules down at the publishing house these days, don’t you think?” Zellweger mused in a recent interview with British Vogue. The pair reflected on how evolving workplace norms in the #MeToo era would dramatically alter the plotline today.
Daniel Cleaver’s Risky Advances
In the film, Grant’s character Daniel—a senior publishing exec—openly pursues his 32-year-old subordinate Bridget. From flirty emails to after-hours trysts, their relationship simmers until boiling over into a full-blown affair.
But in today’s corporate climate, Daniel’s brazen overtures would likely land him in hot water. “Daniel would’ve had to be re-educated,” Grant quipped, imagining the stern talking-to his caddish alter ego would receive from HR.
Navigating the New Normal
Zellweger suspects today’s HR departments would swiftly intervene with “a meeting” to clarify “how you engage” with colleagues. The film’s famed workplace romance, once swooned over by audiences, now seems more problematic than aspirational.
You were not valuable as a woman if you were not partnered up and beginning your own family by a certain age.
– Renée Zellweger on outdated gender expectations
While noting gender roles were more “regimented and reinforced” when the film debuted, Zellweger sees hopeful signs of progress. Women today feel less pressure to settle down and start families by a certain age to prove their worth, she observed.
Bridget’s Undercover Research
To prep for the part, Zellweger secretly embedded at the publishing house Picador, using the pseudonym “Bridget Cavendish.” For two months, she filed articles (even ones about herself) to immerse herself in Bridget’s world—a level of off-screen dedication that served her well.
Bridget Jones’s Enduring Appeal
Despite some elements aging poorly, the Bridget Jones series remains a rom-com touchstone. The first film adaptation of Helen Fielding’s bestseller broke box office records, banking £7.8 million in its opening weekend alone.
- 2004’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
- 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby (which made Working Title the first British studio to gross $1 billion)
Bridget’s Next Chapter
Now, Zellweger and Grant reunite for a fourth installment, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy. Due out February 2025, the film adapts Fielding’s 2013 novel of the same name, promising to explore Bridget’s world in all its messy, relatable glory—even if her and Daniel’s salacious office antics get reimagined for more sensitive times.
As society redefines the boundaries of appropriate workplace conduct, pop culture favorites like Bridget Jones offer a fascinating time capsule. Watching with fresh eyes reveals just how dramatically standards have shifted in a few short decades. While Bridget and Daniel’s taboo tryst titillated turn-of-the-millennium moviegoers, today’s audiences may view it as a glaring HR violation.
Yet, outdated office etiquette aside, Bridget’s bumbling charm and self-deprecating wit continue to resonate. Zellweger and Grant’s self-awareness shows these rom-com legends can still laugh at themselves—and acknowledge when their beloved characters’ antics haven’t quite aged like fine wine. Perhaps that’s the secret to Bridget Jones’s enduring appeal: like its heroine, the series remains endearingly rough around the edges.
