The line on Helen Fielding

Yorkshire-born Helen Fielding, 40, worked in television for 10 years before becoming a journalist and creating the heroine of thirtysomething singledom, Bridget Jones. She now lives in LA, writes full time and is currently working for Save the Children's Change the Odds campaign.

How do you relax in LA?

I like walking, riding and, just like Bridget, mini-breaking. It's mini-break heaven here - you've got the desert and the mountains.

Did you have a vivid imagination as a child?

When I was about seven, I had a teacher called Miss Cotton, who used to give these great geography lessons in which we were whisked off on an imaginary magic carpet ride to the Amazon River and slept in tree houses and saw all the snakes, the spiders and everything. That lady definitely inspired me.

So why did you decide to become a writer?

Going to Africa changed my life. I produced documentaries out there with Lenny Henry, Billy Connolly and Griff Rhys Jones for the first two years of Comic Relief. I found it shocking and it totally changed my perspective. I decided then and there that I wasn't going to work in television any more. I spent a lot of time travelling after that experience and it's what got me writing.

Other than the feel-good factor, what's the attraction of working for charities like Save the Children and Oxfam?

It's one of the last things in the world you can do and have a real Indiana Jones-style adventure, visiting untouristy places.

Have you ever felt jealous of Bridget and her success?

Only once. There was one year when Bridget got 13 Valentine cards and I only got one. Otherwise, I am incredibly grateful to her.

And what's your verdict on the film?

Oh, I'm the worst possible person to ask about it. Renee Zellweger can do the English accent and she has this great ability to look both beautiful and very ordinary. And, so far, people seem to like it... fingers crossed.

To find out more about contributing to Save the Children, call the donation hotline, tel: 020 7701 8916, write to 17 Grove Lane, London SE5 8RD, or visit www.savethechildren.org.uk

The Independent Sunday (London, England) - May 6, 2001