Renée Zellweger looks smitten as she films with teacher love interest for Bridget Jones

Bridget Jones star Renée Zellweger was spotted filming scenes with her on-screen love interest Chiwetel Ejiofor in the Lake District

Renée Zellweger looked smitten as she was spotted filming with rumoured love interest Chiwetel Ejiofor for the next instalment of Bridget Jones.

The 55-year-old actress, who plays the iconic titular character, has reprised her role for Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy and was seen in the Lake District on Sunday with actor 47-year-old Chiwetel - who is said to be playing a PE teacher and her love interest Mr Walker.

In the upcoming movie, she gets close to Mr Walker and explores her on-off relationship with Daniel Cleaver (played by Hugh Grant). Her character will also enjoy a romance with a younger man called Rockstar - played by the one and only One Day star Leo Woodall, 27. The new snaps show Renée rocking a sun hat, wax jacket and dungarees.

She carried a mat that was attached to her backpack. The actress looked fresh-faced as she filmed scenes for the iconic movie. Another snap showed Chiwetel leading a number of schoolchildren around the area. He wore beige trousers and a blue rain jacket and carried a similar backpack.

He was later seen chatting to Renée alone in a field before she bent down to seemingly take a picture. In true Bridget Jones fashion, Renée tripped while walking across a bridge.

The fourth film will see Renee Zellweger's Bridget grappling with widowhood and single motherhood after Mark Darcy's (Colin Firth) demise. Bridget is now a mum to two young children - Billy and Mabel. She enrols them into their local primary school, which is given a fictional name in the movie.

The three previous instalments - Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), and Bridget Jones’s Baby (2016) - have all followed Bridget's tumultuous love life. The first two films saw Bridget and Daniel in various predicaments, including an explosive trip to Thailand which resulted in Bridget dumping him for good.

Daniel then returns to London without her by his side, leaving her in the airport alone. Hugh declined to appear in the third film - Bridget Jones's Baby - because he reportedly didn't think much of the script. Earlier this month, in photos obtained by Metro, Renée and Hugh were seen filming in Hampstead.

In one photo, Hugh's Daniel could be seen with a hand around the back of Bridget's neck, pulling her in for a kiss. The pair can also be seen hugging - a real throwback for fans. But, as is the way with the turbulent couple, the good times don't seem to last, with a seemingly heated row kicking off between them. Daniel is then seen sauntering off to a signature sports car, while Bridget looks on longingly.

News of the movie being made was announced earlier this year. Author of the Bridget Jones books, Helen Fielding, was previously asked about the possibility of a fourth movie and she told Radio Times: "Every film that gets made is a miracle. I think it's really difficult to make films and to make them happen and to make them good and we want them to be really good. But I really hope so. I'd love to see it on the screen."

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