A heart-throb called Colin. Who'd have thought it? But we can't get enough of the man who was Darcy.

Colin Firth first galloped into our view, with windswept black ringlets and a white shirt yawning at the waist, in the BBC's adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. But these days he's whipping his female fans up to fever pitch.

Following his role in the hit movie The English Patient, as Geoffrey Clifton, who works for British intelligence and nurtures a distinctly stiff upper life outlook on life, Firth, 36, now stars in Fever Pitch, written by Nick Hornby. Firth plays a fanatical Arsenal fan who refuses to allow his girlfriend to squash his obsession with the game. He even cavorts in red and white boxers embroidered with footballs and the slogan, 'Go Go Gunners.'

In real life, Firth has become an Arsenal devotee, claiming he hates missing a match. Yet one of the few things that will drag him away from his beloved football is the chance to spend valuable time with his six-year-old son, who lives in Los Angeles with actress Meg Tilly--Firth had a five-year romance with her after they worked together on the movie, Valmont..

Love is not a subject Firth likes discussing. He prefers to keep his relationships under wraps and although his Italian girlfriend Livia Giuggioli wears a whacking diamond, he refuses to comment. Still, it does give the rest of us women the chance to carry on dreaming.