Bridget Jones fans' shock as author Helen Fielding kills off Darcy

Fans of Bridget Jones’ Diary took to Twitter to voice out their horror about at the news that Mark Darcy was killed off in the next book.

07:33 01 October 2013

Sunday Times magazine has published extracts of Helen Fielding’s new book, Mad About The Boy where it was revealed that Bridget Jones’ husband and the father of her two children died five years earlier. This role was played by Colin Firth in the hit Bridget Jones movies.

Fans took to social networking sites to voice out their horror. One fan wrote on Twitter: "One word for Helen Fielding: why?!" another one wrote: "What the hell is Helen fielding playing at in the next bridget jones book!?

Fans may get answers to questions when Fielding speaks at next month’s Cheltenham Literature Festival.

The first Bridget Jones’s diary was published in 1996 and three years later its sequel, The Edge of Reason, was released.

The books chronicle the life of a single working woman living in London. In 2001, the book was featured on the big screen starring American actress Renee Zellweger, who received an Oscar nomination for playing the lead role. Alongside Firth’s Darcy, Hugh Grant played the role of womanising Daniel Cleaver.

Mad About The Boy is due to be released on October 10.