'Bridget Jones' Diary' heartthrob Mark Darcy will be killed off.
The dashing hero, played by Colin Firth in the 'Bridget Jones' film franchise, won't feature in the third chapter of accident-prone Bridget's life, if the first extracts from author Helen Fielding's long-awaited new novel, 'Mad About the Boy', are to be believed.

In the pages published in the Sunday Times magazine, Bridget reveals that Darcy - her husband and father to her two children, Mabel and Billy - died five years earlier.
The bumbling blonde, played by Renee Zellweger in the romantic comedies - was also revealed to have embarked on a relationship with a 30-year-old toy boy called Roxster.
Fans took to Twitter to react to the tragic news, expressing their anger at Fielding for leaving Bridget a widower aged 51.

One wrote, ''Mark Darcy is dead. Bridget Jones is a widow. This is all too much for a lazy Sunday morning'', while another incredulous reader fumed, ''What the hell is helen fielding playing at in the next bridget jones book!? (sic)''
It is not yet known whether the long-planned third 'Bridget Jones' film will follow the same plot as the book.

Back in February, Hugh Grant - who plays lothario Daniel Cleaver in the films - revealed he had seen a script for the third film, but neither he, Zellweger or Firth had signed on to star.
He admitted: ''No one has signed on the dotted line. But they are working on our script. I have seen the script.''
The first best-selling book, 'Bridget Jones's Diary' - written in the form of a diary - was published in 1996, with sequel 'Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason' released in 1999.