Bridget Jones Girl Flees 'Bullet in post' maniac threats

BRIDGET JONES GIRL FLEES
'BULLET IN POST' MANIAC THREATS

By Lucy Panton, The People (London, England) - 4 February 2000

THE terrified author of the best-selling Bridget Jones's Diary has fled Britain after a crazed male stalker posted a BULLET through her letterbox. Millionaire Helen Fielding is now living in California. There she finally feels safe from the nutter, who also tormented her with menacing phone calls to her flat in Notting Hill, West London.

The terror campaign began shortly after TV star Jill Dando was shot dead outside her home a few miles away in Fulham. A source revealed last night: "Helen received a number of threatening and aggressive calls. But receiving the bullet through the post really shook her up. It was a very distressing time and her move to the States has given her a chance to put the whole terrible ordeal behind her."

Murder squad detectives investigated links between the stalking campaign and Jill's murder, we can reveal. But they now believe the two are not linked. Officers also say they are close to cracking the Fielding case.

Helen, 38, shot to fame in 1996 when the hilarious best-selling Bridget Jones's Diary was published. The book followed the daily routine of a neurotic, single, 30-something career girl in London.

Bridget attracted legions of fans among single women of a similar age. But the comedy satire, which took a strong feminist stance, was not greeted so warmly by male readers.

Fielding followed it up with a sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason at the end of last year. And she plans to set Bridget's next adventure in southern California. "I love it here," she said.

A spokesman for her agent refused to comment about the stalker. He said: "I wouldn't speak about that and Helen wouldn't either." But he confirmed: "She has recently bought a house in Los Angeles."