Vicar of Dibley is celebrating 30 years (Image: Simon Jacobs/PinPep)
The is soon set to mark 30 years on TV, with star Kate Bottley getting involved in the show’s campaign. She says that the much loved sitcom helped her to realise that being a female vicar was in fact possible and the show is much closer to reality than you’d ever imagine.
Speaking exclusively to , she said: “Dibley is like a documentary. That is what church council meetings are like, you know, just rambling and trying to keep them on track.
“The Christmas dinner episode, for instance, where she has all the – that’s an actual true story. That actually happens.
“For me, it was only three Christmas dinners in a day but the in the town had all their school dinners and wanted me there. Fortunately it was smaller portions because it was primary school.
“But yeah Dibley is actually a documentary. Vicars watch it and go ‘yeah that’s happened to me’.
Rev Kate was famed for appearing on Channel 4’s Gogglebox (Image: Matt Alexander/PA Media Assignments)
“Richard Curtis and the rest of the team have been very careful to try and do it as much justice as they could. And she’s a lovely, warm, kind character that is somebody who we would all like to be friends with, while not being afraid to talk about her faith.”
When asked if it’s true that the show encouraged Kate to become a vicar, the reverand replied: “Well it sort of is yeah. I got a calling from the church to go and serve but it [Vicar of Dibley] made it look doable, in a weird way and even though it’s fictional and came out of Richard Curtis’ head.”
The TV star went on to explain: “It was based on a wonderful Vicar called Joy Carol. She was a Vicar in London and Richard Curtis went along to a wedding that she did and thought ‘this is great, of course there should be women vicars’. So he based the character of Geraldine on a real person.
“What Geraldine the fictitious character and Joy the real person did was make it look possible to be yourself to be this job. I always thought if you wanted to be a priest you had to water yourself down and be a bit bland and boring and samey.
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A stained glass art installation has gone up to celebrate (Image: Simon Jacobs/PinPep)
“But they just went ‘oh no, you can actually like popular music and know stuff about popular culture and wear what you want’. So it made it look possible is what I think it was.”
A giant stained-glassed inspired artwork dedicated to The Vicar of Dibley has been unveiled at the site where the much-loved sitcom was originally filmed, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the much-loved sitcom. The installation will temporarily be in place before it is gifted to a superfan of the popular series.
The 15ft by 6ft stained-glass effect installation mimics the effect of sunlight coming through a church window and includes a series of famous moments from the show, as voted for by the British public. Over 20 ‘Easter Eggs’ from Dibley’s 30-year history feature within the artwork, which will test the knowledge of even the keenest Dibley fans.
The Vicar of Dibley airs on U&GOLD on Sundays throughout November, with Christmas specials continuing the 30th celebrations into December.