** ANNA FRIEL ** and her actor boyfriend ** David Thewlis ** have been picked to front the autumn/winter 2001 advertising campaign for retiring British label ** Mulberry ** . It's hoped that the ex- * Brookside * actress and her thespian lover, who posed for fashion snapper ** Henry Bond ** two months ago for a reported fee of £50,000, will help Mulberry do a Burberry and inject some zest into the brand's traditional image, following its expansion from leather accessories and luggage into men's and women's ready-to-wear. "The Mulberry renaissance is already under way," we're assured. "Admired and coveted all over the world, the essence of English style somehow defies definition. But if anyone is qualified to define it, it is Mulberry's creator, ** Roger Saul ** ." Saul, the company's founder and MD, recently enrolled last year's Vidal Sassoon New Generation award winner ** Scott Henshall ** as chief designer. "It's important that a premium British brand like Mulberry is supporting and developing young British designers," he says. "As fashion moves from minimalism to colour and texture, I believe that Scott's creativity and attention to detail complements the richness and distinctiveness that has always been the hallmark of the Mulberry brand. Scott is one of Britain's most exciting young designers, he is an instinctive practitioner of the English style. And Mulberry is his spiritual home."