He should be gone, but a smoking hot Colin Firth was photographed on the set of Bridget Jones’s Diary

Colin Firth fans can rejoice: Mark Darcy is to be reunited with Bridget Jones after all, the Mail on Sunday can reveal.

When Firth’s name was missing from the cast list of the upcoming film about the world’s most famous bachelor, fans feared his character had been killed off.

That was certainly his fate in Helen Fielding’s novels, in which he marries Bridget but dies while working abroad as a human rights lawyer.

In these exclusive photos from the set of Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Renee Zellweger, who plays Jones, is seen lovingly interacting with her co-star Firth, 63.

Wearing Darcy’s signature suit and tie, Firth tenderly places his hand on the cheek of his 55-year-old co-star, who is wearing an emerald green dress and leather boots.

Since Bridget in Fielding’s novel Mad About the Boy is set four years after Darcy’s death, Firth’s return is a big surprise. However, the film’s executives were keen to keep it a secret.

A source said: “Colin was definitely going to appear in the film, but that would remain a secret.”

SOME OF THE CAST OF THE FILM BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY.
Camera iconIn the final film, Bridget Jones’s Baby, she is seen at the memorial service for her other on-again, off-again love Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant, who is presumed dead in a plane crash. Credit: Delivered

It is not the first time that the fictional diarist has been struck by tragedy.

In the final film, Bridget Jones’s Baby, she is seen at the memorial service for her other on-again, off-again love Daniel Cleaver, played by Hugh Grant, who is presumed dead in a plane crash.

He is later found alive.

Fans will have to be patient to find out whether Darcy is that lucky, or whether he merely appears in a dream scene.

The Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this year that Jones will face a three-way battle for her love: Cleaver, a much younger rock star played by One Day star thief Leo Woodall, and Mr Walker, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s character from 12 Years A Slave.

Bridget, now a mother of two, develops a crush on Mr. Walker, who teaches gym at her son’s school, before turning her attention to the handsome rock star she meets through social media.

The Mail on Sunday previously revealed that Bridget will be ditching her famous bachelor pad in London’s Borough Market in favour of a family home in leafy Hampstead, north London, where so many scenes have been filmed in recent months.

The film, which is set for release on Valentine’s Day next year, also sees Bridget quitting her job in television to take the kids to school. Comedy scenes are expected as she struggles to keep up with the Yummy Mummies.

The character of Mark Darcy is said to have been inspired by Keir Starmer when he worked as a human rights lawyer in the 1990s, a rumour the new Prime Minister has never denied.