I needed a woman who was an emotional mess.
So I gave birth to Bridget

By Charles Leadbeater,  The Independent – April 5, 2001

THE IDEA for Bridget Jones's Diary came to me almost by accident and out of desperation. At the time, I was the not hugely successful features editor of The Independent, and I was desperate to find a column that appealed to young women. 

I wanted something that reflected the eclectic mix of topics women in the office seemed to talk about when they arrived in the morning, as I strained to overhear them without appearing to eavesdrop. I wanted something that covered the topics men assume women talk about when they visit the toilet in groups: make-up, men, food, the outrage of global poverty. Another leader page-style column written by a woman wouldn't do the trick. 

Like most good ideas Bridget Jones started with plagiarism. I had been listening to the radio version of Dulcie Domum's diary of motherhood, a staple of The Guardian's weekend edition. The Independent needed something like it, but with more attitude that would appeal to younger single women. 

The next step in the development of most good ideas is to draw heavily on the expertise of other people, without paying them for their advice. So over dinner I developed the idea for a fictional column with my wife, the writer Geraldine Bedell.

Helen Fielding, who was then a journalist with Geraldine on The Independent on Sunday, was the natural choice to write it. The lead character in Helen's first novel, Cause Celebre, was a young woman, who worked in publishing and whose emotional life was in a mess. It was her tone of voice that I wanted. 

Helen and I had a sketchy conversation about what the column might entail after she had read my two-page outline, in which I suggested the lead character should have an embarrassing, sexually liberated lesbian mother. We agreed the character should have a nondescript name. "Something like Bridget Jones," said Helen. In our first discussion she came up with the daily roll call of calories, cigarettes and minutes spent obsessing.

After writing a couple of trial columns in which we worked out the basic format, and in the face of some gentle scepticism from my seniors, the column went live. Helen had to get up at 5am on a Tuesday to meet the ridiculously early deadlines. After six weeks, sleep deprivation had taken such a toll she was ready to give up. But by that time it was already evident from the letters we were getting that Bridget Jones was going to be a hit. After a couple of months the weekly editing of the column passed to the late Ruth Picardie and Genevieve Fox. 

It still haunts me. A couple of months ago, I was being shown into the office of a senior civil servant to have a serious discussion about education policy. The man showing me in turned to me and asked: "We've been having a debate in the office about whether you are the Charles Leadbeater." I puffed out my chest assuming he was referring to one of my Demos policy pamphlets. But he asked: "Did you really invent Bridget Jones's Diary?" 

Well, only after a fashion. Coming up with ideas is easy; turning them into a success, week after week is the hard part. Bridget Jones's is a success because the writing is so funny and empathetic, clever and insightful and that comes down to one thing: Helen Fielding.

Charles Leadbeater is a former assistant editor of `The Independent'. He is now an associate director of Demos.