TALK OF THE TOWN: v.v. clumsy! Helen has a Bridget Jones moment in the mountains

Author Helen Fielding has always taken care to distance herself from her comic creation Bridget Jones, insisting her books are fiction, not autobiography.

But when the 67–year–old writer took a trip to a US mountain resort over the Christmas break, she experienced what can only be described as a ‘Bridget moment’.

In a social media post, Fielding said she ‘narrowly survived Wild West perilous snowboarding’ in stunning Jackson Hole, Wyoming, though the picture actually shows her on the snowmobile, where she came a cropper.

‘At the very end I crashed into the one in front creating snowmobile domino–effect crash,’ she confessed. ‘No one got hurt except the snowmobile and my sense of practical competence.’

Of course, such a mishap is completely different from poor old Bridget, who ended up skiing backwards, out–of–control, after she was abandoned on the slopes by her lover Mr Darcy, the character once rumoured to be based on Sir Keir Starmer.

A couple of days after revealing the accident, Fielding channelled her creation again when she made a hilarious list of New Year’s resolutions on Instagram. 

They included: ‘Loose [sic] 7lbs and stomach whilst doing body positivity’, ‘form Pickleball team. (Also find out what it is)’ and the very relatable: ‘Go to gym three times a week not merely to lie in steam bath’.

Fielding also revealed last week that Bridget’s notorious ‘blue soup’ incident happened in real life, telling The Queen’s Reading Room podcast she once served odd–coloured vichyssoise to a dinner party, having used blue string to tie the vegetables together while in the pot.

Coldplay’s Payday

Coldplay’s concerts made a splash last year due to the ‘kiss cam’ scandal – where the lens landed on an HR executive in a clinch with her married boss in Boston – but they also made a stash, too. 

The band earned a £108million profit, according to accounts filed at Companies House. 

The Music of Spheres tour has become the most–attended of all time – but it’s still a mystery whether actress Sophie Turner, 29, has been backstage to watch since being linked to frontman Chris Martin. 

Emma Weymouth, the Marchioness of Bath, saw double on New Year’s Eve when she posed beside her own portrait at Claridge’s.

The likeness of the 39–year–old wife of was created by David Downton, who has also immortalised other celebs including Kate Moss and Cate Blanchett.

The Marchioness – daughter of a Nigerian oil billionaire – was a guest at Donatella Versace and Edward Enninful’s star–studded New Year’s Eve dinner along with Elton John, Idris Elba and Cynthia Erivo. 

Cruz’s puzzling start to 2026…

No wild New Year’s Eve carousing for Cruz Beckham and girlfriend Jackie Apostel as they instead opted to tackle a jigsaw puzzle – of themselves.

The couple said the puzzle ‘was actually really difficult’ to put together as they toasted the New Year at Sir David and Lady Beckham’s Cotswolds pad. 

And Cruz’s brother Romeo played snooker in Poldark–style garb with puffed sleeves and pointed collars.

However, the eldest Beckham brother, Brooklyn, who blocked his entire family on all social media as part of an ongoing feud, partied with his actress wife, Nicola Peltz, thousands of miles away in Florida.

Spotted

Luther star Ruth Wilson pumping iron at £245–a–month gym Third Space at Tower Bridge.

The Crown actor Dominic West toasting the New Year at the Duke of Beaufort’s estate, Badminton House in Gloucestershire.

Georgia Toffolo dining at Boisdale in Belgravia with her husband, Brewdog founder James Watt. 

Make–up mogul Charlotte Tilbury hosting a knees–up on the Kenyan island of Lamu with Lady Mary Charteris in tow.

Rita changes her spots – five times

Rita Ora bared her claws for a performance in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. 

The pop star, 38, donned a full leopard outfit – ideal for New York’s sub–zero temperatures – in one of many costume changes.

Before prowling on to the stage, she said: ‘I love an outfit change, so I’ve got about five planned.’

Gavin And Stacey star Joanna Page can’t bear the thought of watching herself in Love Actually, as it brings back the memory of a hugely cringe–inducing moment.

Joanna, 48, who played body double Judy in the 2003 film, once introduced the classic at the Cardiff Film Festival. 

‘It was only then it dawned on me that I’m sitting in the cinema next to my husband and my parents and everyone is looking at my boobs! Oh my God – I can’t bear it!’