Dawn French Hints At a Vicar of Dibley Return
Dawn French played the lead role in one of the most beloved BBC sitcoms of all time, The Vicar of Dibley. Although the show ended some time ago, she has now infused new hope for those who would like to see a return of the show.
During an interview with the Daily Mirror, Dawn made the statement that church in the UK now allows women to be bishops so “who knows?”
The show is based in the fictional Oxfordshire village of Dibley. The role of Vicar Geraldine Granger was played by Dawn French and she was given the assignment of overseeing the parish after the ordination of women was permitted in the Church of England in 1992.
Although the show ended in 2007, it has shown some new life in a number of notable sketches, including Comic Relief and Red Nose Day. In fact, the most recent sketch appeared only last year.
If The Vicar of Dibley does make a return, the cast is likely to change, especially considering the death of Roger Lloyd-Pack in 2014 from pancreatic cancer. The increasing age of a number of other cast members is likely to mean changes as well.
“Our old guys are really old now, so I don’t think we could revisit it, because it’s just too different, but it could change.”
Dawn French also stated that, due to the success of the show, she was elevated to a status that she was both privileged and lucky to enjoy.
Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, the creators of the show, consulted with Rev. Joy Carroll. She is one of the first female vicars in Britain. She was consulted prior to the launch of the show in 1994 to ensure that the scripts would be true to life.
This is not the first time the sitcom has addressed the issue of female bishops. In addition, a sketch in the 2013 Comic Relief sketch showed General Synod voting to life the ban.
Dawn French has hinted that a return of Geraldine as a bishop could become a reality as early as 2008:
“All I am saying is that Richard has got his eye on the ball. There are conversations, obviously, in the Anglican Church about female bishops – so watch this space!”
Dawn has been working hard as the producer of the upcoming Ab Fab film and bringing her 30 Million Minutes show to London’s Vaudeville Theatre.
