Now prepare yourself for this, as this is one of those pieces of information that may just unintentionally make me you feel old: the first Bridget Jones’s Diary was released in 2001 – 24 years ago.

It’s a franchise that cemented Renée Zellweger’s position as a global star, and saw her return to the role a further two times.

But despite her obvious talent, Zellweger’s career has been patchy at best. Since the last entry in the series, 2016’s Bridget Jones’s Baby she has only appeared in four films. Sure one of them, her last, was 2019’s Judy which she deservedly won an Oscar for, and even though most actresses would die for her career to date, you get the sense that the American actress had more to offer than her CV overall represents.

Six years after her Oscar winning turn, Zellweger returns to the familiar role of Bridget Jones, in what is allegedly the last outing for author Helen Fielding’s iconic character.

Love has never come easy for Bridget Jones (Zellweger), despite her many suitors.

She now finds herself with two young children, and having been single for four years. Her friends insist she needs both a new man in her life, and a job, and she starts to come around to thinking they may well be right.

But although she feels she may now well be ready to face her future, parts of her past are still holding her back.

The fact that she gets a job is a solid start though, and when a young man ( Leo Woodall) rescues her when a tree gets the better of her and her family, her love life looks a lot healthier too, but as Bridget knows when it comes to love, nothing is a given.

Zellweger’s return as Jones is certainly a welcome one. As the script itself implies, it’s blatantly aimed at an audience of a certain age, mostly women, it has to be said. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Jones has become a talisman of sorts for that generation, one that is not so much inspirational, but more relatable. So catching up with her now is like getting back in touch with an old friend.

The script is undoubtedly predictable, but it doesn’t really matter; Zellweger not only knows her character inside out, but she also knows what her audience wants, and she delivers.

This is British director Michael Morris’ follow-up to his directorial debut, 2022’s excellent To Leslie, and he doesn’t do a lot wrong here; the film is in safe hands, as he like its star, knows what’s expected from a Bridget Jones film, and doesn’t disappoint.

Perhaps the cameos are all too brief, and Hugh Grant’s contribution is woefully short, always leaving you wanting more, with his character Daniel Cleaver crying out for a spin-off fling all of its own, despite the fact that, well, he was killed off in the last one.

The children are little annoying, but they’re suppose to be, to a certain extent, but with some astounding performances by young stars in recent years, you get the impression that Morris wasn’t too fussed about their contribution, what with Jones being the star.

There’s even a soundtrack that feels as if it’s been, once again, curated for women of a certain age, which will no doubt hark back to their own pasts, murky or not.

The experience you get from this supposed last instalment in the series is akin to the character’s infamous big pants – satisfyingly cosy.

In that sense, it’s the perfect swansong for fans, and although it doesn’t offer too much in the way of character development or original plot points, it makes for an entertaining, touching and fitting final entry in the diary.