When Harry met Bridget: Men see themselves as Billy Crystal's classic rom-com cynic while women liken their lives to lovelorn diarist

Published: 01:49, 2 May 2026 | Updated: 01:49, 2 May 2026 British men liken themselves to love-cynic Harry Burns while women relate most to lovelorn Bridget Jones, a new study reveals. The two characters from classic mushy movies came out top in a poll of UK film fans conducted for the Freeview channel Great Romance. The results were revealed as the original Bridget Jones' Diary returns to UK cinemas to mark the 25th anniversary of the iconic rom-com. From a long list of lead characters, British blokes felt their attitude to love most resembled that of relationship sceptic Harry Burns, played by Billy Crystal in the 1989 classic When Harry Met Sally. Burns famously rejects the notion that men and women can truly be friends, although eventually ties the knot with Sally - played by Meg Ryan - who he has been debating it with for 12 years. A sixth (15 per cent) of UK men chose Harry Burns while one in 10 saw themselves as awkwardly English William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant in the much-loved 1999 flick Notting Hill. And rounding out the top three, a self-assured 7 per cent of British men see themselves as Marc Darcy, the wealthy, handsome human rights lawyer played by Colin Firth in the iconic 2001 global smash Bridget Jones's Diary.  When it comes to rom-com characters, British men relate mostly to Billy Crystal's Harry Burns from When Harry Met Sally  Women, meanwhile, relate to Bridget Jones (played by Renée Zellweger in the smash-hit films)  Whether their partners agree is perhaps due a study in itself. Meanwhile, more than a quarter (27 per cent) of British women liken themselves to Renée Zellweger's hopelessly single Bridget Jones from the eponymous saga spanning four movies from 2001 to 2025. And, foil to persistent grumbler Harry Burns, Sally Albright - played by Meg Ryan in the same 1989 Rob Reiner classic - was the second most popular choice for UK women (7 per cent). Joint third place sharing just 4 per cent of the votes were Martine McCutcheon's character Natalie from Love Actually, Meg Ryan's Kathleen Kelly from You've Got Mail and Meryl Streep's Donna Sheridan from Mama Mia. When it comes to films that best represent Brits' love lives, the 2016 hit How to be Single claimed top position, voted for by one in ten adults (9 per cent). Romantic movies are one of the most popular film choices for Brits, with the average adult watching four a month, as many as 52 per year, according to the same nationwide study. Great Romance commissioned the research as part of their commitment to showing beloved, nostalgic romance films found on Freeview channel number 52. The romance-centric channel shows romantic films all day, every day, including the likes of Love, Romance and Chocolate, Love by Chance and One Perfect Match. Kate Gartland, Marketing Director at Great, said: 'The top choices suggest British men and women are a long way apart on romance, but it's reassuring to remember both Harry and Bridget do eventually find their happy ever after.' The top rom-com characters British men relate to: No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.