23 JANUARY 2004
There's no doubt that getting drenched has done wonders for Colin Firth's career. The self-effacing heart-throb first caught the attention of women all over Britain when he emerged from the lake in Pride And Prejudice. And subsequent soakings have served to further boost his international profile.

In Love Actually Colin was back in the water, this time diving into a muddy lake in a desperate bid to recover the pages of a book he was writing. And now it has been revealed that he'll be getting another dunking in the name of romance during a fight scene with Hugh Grant in Bridge Jones: The Edge Of Reason.

"I really can't give much away but it involves me ending up in a pond," revealed the 42-year-old. "On the night we shot the scene it was freezing and I got very wet and caught a mild chill and a cold."

But he insists his pride emerged unscathed, because Hugh was no match for him in

the punch-up. "No contest," declared the actor jokingly. "I could whip him any day of the week."