Bridget Jones film to 'play down' her obsession with losing weight - as new sequel is thought to be first time Renee Zellweger is not putting on pounds to play iconic role

Bridget's obsession with losing weight will be 'played down' in the film after protests she might be a bad influence.

She takes up Zumba and as a healthy size 10 won't panic over putting on a pound or two, as she has done before.

'We will be more reflective of what people think about body image these days,' said a source involved with the film.

'Letting go of Bridget's weight obsession is seen as the right thing to do.'

It is thought to be the first time that Renee Zellweger has not put on pounds for the role.

Bridget's obsession with losing weight will be 'played down' in the film after protests she might be a bad influence (pictured: Renee Zellweger as Bridget in Bridget Jones's Diary)

The core premise of Bridget Jones's Diary, the first film in the series, is that Bridget Jones is fat and Renee Zellweger hit the headlines for gaining just over 2st to play the character (pictured: Zellweger in Bridget Jones' Diary in 2001)

Meanwhile, in the second installment, we saw even more of Bridget's preoccupation with her weight, which was linked explicitly to her pursuit of a partner 

Bridget was routinely fat-shamed in both the original books by Helen Fielding and the first film, despite weighing just over 61 kg - the same size as the average British woman at the time.

Zellweger gained weight twice to play the size 12 heroine - once in 2001 for Bridget Jones's Diary and again in 2004 for the sequel The Edge of Reason - before her character reached her 'ideal weight' in the third film, albeit briefly before falling pregnant.

The core premise of Bridget Jones's Diary, the first film in the series, is that Bridget is fat and Zellweger hit the headlines for gaining just over two stone to play the character.

The actress admitted to struggling to gain the weight for the role and was reported to be on a 4,000-calorie-per-day diet to reach the target quickly.

She told The New York Times: 'I'd have an omelette with cheese and sauce for breakfast with a fatty yoghurt and then a fruit salad with a topping and juice and coffee and cream and a bagel with butter and a few hours later a chocolate shake with weight-gain powder in it.'

Meanwhile, in the second installment, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, we saw even more of Bridget's preoccupation with her weight, which was linked explicitly to her pursuit of a partner.

After hearing love interest Mark Darcy, played by Colin Firth, insulting her to his mother in the second movie, she says of herself: 'And that was it. Right there. Right there that was the moment.

'I suddenly realised that unless something changed soon, I was going to live a life where my major relationship was with a bottle of wine and I'd finally die fat and alone and be found three weeks later eaten by Alsatians or I was about to turn into Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction.'

Renee Zellweger repeated the weight gain process to star as Bridget in the second movie, after losing the two stone she'd gained following the first film.

Speaking to Closer magazine at the time she said: 'It would be silly if Bridget was talking about her chubby thighs and they weren't chubby.'

In 2016, Zellweger revealed that while she wanted to gain weight for the third movie, the idea was rejected by directors.

She explained writers wanted Bridget Jones's Baby to show her on-screen character had 'achieved her ideal weight'.

The actress admitted to struggling to gain the weight for the role and was reported to be on a 4,000-calorie-per-day diet to reach the target quickly

Renee Zellweger repeated the weight gain process to star as Bridget, after losing the two stone she'd gained following the first film 

In 2016, Zellweger revealed that while she wanted to gain weight for the third movie, the idea was rejected by directors 

She explained writers wanted Bridget Jones's Baby to show her on-screen character had 'achieved her ideal weight' 

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Renee revealed: 'Sharon was hoping we could show that Bridget had achieved her ideal weight, but at the same time it didn't mean her life was perfect.

'I wasn't sure about that one though because we all have something we think is wrong, that needs fixing, that in our own minds represents the ideal that we are meant to obtain. And I like the idea that that stays with us throughout our lives.'

During an interview with British Vogue, Renee explained her character in the third film was a 'perfectly normal weight'.