Fan frenzy halts 'Sex and the City' filming (+photos)

Filming on the New York set of the

Sex and the City

sequel had to be halted this week after hordes of hysterical fans tried to overpower security to get a glimpse of their idols.

Leading lady

Sarah Jessica Parker,

and her on-screen hubby

Big

, played by hunky

Chris Noth,

hit the streets of the Big Apple on Tuesday to film scenes for the hotly anticipated sequel to last year's box office smash.

Photos: Filming Sex and the City 2

Cameras rolled as Parker, 44, shot several takes of a scene in which she leaves the swanky New York City love nest she and Big snapped up and sold after their tumultuous break-up in the first flick.

"She comes out as Carrie Bradshaw, puts on her sunglasses, looks around and starts walking," a snitch told Usmagazine.com. "She looks pretty happy to be back at work."

Video: First look...SJP on set

A day later, over-eager fans began bombarding the upper East Side set as early as 7 am when word spread that Parker was to be joined by co-stars

Cynthia Nixon

and

Kim Cattrall

to film key scenes.

As soon as Parker emerged from her trailer to film a cab-hailing scene, fans clamoured to get a glimpse of her, according to the

New York Daily News,

forcing producers to hire in extra man muscle to protect their well-heeled talent.

A snitch said: "They looked more like they were protecting the President than Sarah Jessica Parker," as Parker was filmed hailing a cab in what's believed to be a 80s flashback scene depicting her alter-ego

Carrie Bradshaw

's arrival in New York.

For her retro-flashback moment, SJP was spotted sporting a

Streisand

-esque poodle-perm, off-the-shoulder sweatshirt, cropped white capris and trainers to complete the

Flashdance

-inspired look.

But Bradshaw's hit-and-miss style isn't the only thing to re-emerge - so too has Parker's trademark mole on her chin which she had surgically removed last year.

Parker may have gone under the knife, but Carrie Bradshaw hasn't, so out pops the make-up to

paint the mole back on

, for continuity reasons obviously.

Anyway, back to the drama...

No sooner had the cameras stopped rolling, security guards had to aggressively fend off fans as they clamoured to meet the star.

"At one point, teenage girls were practically trampling each other trying to get to Sarah Jessica as she was walking back to her trailer, but her security team was shoving everyone out of the way," the snitch adds.

But when Parker spotted the hired muscles' heavy-handed tactics, she begged them not to "hurt her fans," says the on-set snitch, adding that "She looked upset and extremely concerned. The guards were getting pretty rough."

The same havoc reportedly ensued when Cynthia Nixon left her trailer to film a street scence. A bun-fight kicked off when the gathered crowds made a B-line for the star, forcing her to hot foot it and return to the sanctuary of her trailer.

The fevered crowds were then told she wouldn't be filming her scene after all.

"The fans were just too much," concluded the snitch. "Security looked legitimately concerned for her safety."

So what's in store for Manhattan's gal-pals?

The sequel's plot has pretty much been a closely-guarded secret, but that hasn't stopped the speculation...

*

Reports suggest that Carrie's marriage to Mr. Big might be on the skids, catalysed by the money man's financial woes linked to the economic crisis.

*

Chris Noth has also hinted that producers were "probably thinking" about bambinos for Carrie and Big.

*

Producers were also reportedly toying with the idea of a storyline where Big snaps up a job in Dubai, but the United Arab Emirates' government rejected a request by producers to film there for moral reasons, according to Usmagazine.com.

*

Man-eating Samatha will no doubt be up to her usual sexcapades. Word is she's also be affected by the credit crunch and forced to tone down her lavish lifestyle after losing money on some investements.

But while her stocks may be down, her love live will see plenty of man action. A Croatian male model named

Filip Kleva

is rumoured to have been cast as Samantha's latest conquest. "I'll love the role as Samantha has been my favourite character in Sex And The City. I'm very excited about it," Kleva was quoted as saying about the role.

*

Charlotte, on the other hand, is rumoured to have issues with her English nanny with "big boobs" she hires to look after her two children. Which ties in rather nicely with the rumour that

Katie Price

and

Victoria Beckham

auditioned for the role of an English nanny in the film. Hell-to-the-no!

SJP is remaining typically schtum on plot-lines: "In a million years I'm not going to give you an indication," she recently said. "I want someone to show up that first weekend."

The sequel is scheduled for release in May 2010.

While we wait for the sassy lasses to return for their sequel, here's the offical trailer for the first outing:

Blogger Bites Back

Pictured: Sarah Jessica Parker film a scene on location for'Sex and the City 2' in New York. Photo / AP