Without Ewan

It was an unaccompanied Renee Zellweger who braved a drizzly English evening last night, turning up to the premiere of her new romantic comedy, Down With Love at the Odeon cinema in Kensington. While Ewan McGregor was off shooting in the States, Zellweger held down the fort along with director Peyton Reed, for a film with a distinctly retro feel. Zellweger stars as feminist advice author Barbara Novak in this throw-back Sixties-set comedy. McGregor plays a typically chauvinistic playboy journalist but, despite their polarised outlooks, he sets out to prove that even Novak is not immune to his wily charms. "When I first read the script, it was really easy to imagine Renee playing the character," said Reed. "Luckily she said yes. We were both huge fans of Ewan, he was really into the script and was a fan of these old movies." "I had the best time," chimed Zellweger. "Ewan and I have been friends for a really long time, and I've been a fan probably longer than that, so it was a really, really great time. I had fun waking up and going to work and play around with him." Already bulking up for her return to British form in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Zellweger laughed off rumours that she was eating 20 donut a day to put on enough weight. "Yeah, I heard that. 20 doughnuts a day? Wow. Doughnuts aren't really my thing, I've just been eating lots of really fattening food".