Hugh Grant: 'Renee Zellweger's Bridget Jones casting seemed like a stretch at first'

Hugh Grant initially thought it was a "stretch" for American actress Renee Zellweger to play British fictional character Bridget Jones in the film adaptations of the books.

When the Texan actress was cast in the titular role in the movie versions of Helen Fielding's beloved books, there was a national outcry, with people asking why a British actress hadn't been picked for the role.

And in a new BBC Two documentary titled Being Bridget Jones, Hugh - who played Bridget's love interest Daniel Cleaver in the films - admitted he also had doubts about whether or not Renee would do the role justice.

"There was a whole scandal about why isn't this a British actress?" he said. "I didn't know Renee Zellweger, and a Texan playing a British character, it did seem like a stretch."

Renee worked hard to nail the British accent she needed to play Bridget, with Hugh adding he was "startled" at first to hear that she sounded just like Queen Elizabeth's sister Princess Margaret.

"She was told to kind of, well she thought she better loosen it up a bit,'" Hugh said, adding that a week later Renee's accent "was bang on".

Renee played Bridget in Bridget Jones's Diary in 2001, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in 2004, and Bridget Jones's Baby in 2016.