dawn french

Vicar of Dibley star Dawn French confirms new episodes will pay tribute to late stars

Geraldine Granger will be back on our screens very soon 

TV & Film Editor
December 3, 2020

Dawn French has confirmed that the Vicar of Dibley will be paying tribute to the stars of the show who have sadly passed away.

MORE: Remembering Vicar of Dibley castmates who have sadly passed away 

Chatting on The One Show, the comedian opened up about the show returning for a series of Christmas specials via Zoom, explaining: "Richard Curtis, Paul Mayhew-Archer and I decided, 'What would Geraldine be doing at Christmas?'

WATCH: Dawn French Returns As Geraldine Granger In The Vicar Of Dibley

"She'd be zooming her parishioners and ministering to them like that, so that's what we've done. It's ten minutes long but it's three little sermons so it takes us all the way through the lockdown." 

Emma Chambers sadly passed away in 2018

She continued: "But like everything in Dibley, there's funny, silly stuff about people getting stuck in the church when lockdown started, so they're still in the church. We also pay tribute to those who aren't with us anymore. Dibley has always been able to wrap its arms around the truth as well as being silly and funny." 

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Emma Chambers, Roger Lloyd-Pack, John Bluthal and Liz Smith, who played Alice, Owen, Frank and Letitia on the show respectively, have passed away since the show's conclusion in 2007.

Dawn paid tribute to Emma following her sad death in 2018, telling Lorraine Kelly: "This has been a very shocking and sad loss. Far too young and I think we're all still reeling a little bit from it. My memories of working with Emma are some of my most favourite memories of my whole career. 

The new episodes will pay tribute to the show's late stars

"She's a massively diligent person, much unlike [her Vicar of Dibley character] Alice. She was incredibly bright. Very funny, very knowing and yet she was able to play someone who was in a different world."

Dawn also remembered John after his sad death in 2018, writing on Twitter: "Tons of happy laughs remembered today. Cheeky, naughty, hilarious. Bye darlin' Bluey."

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