The towing 15ft by 6ft artwork, featuring iconic moments and side-splitting jokes from the series, was unveiled in the Buckinghamshire village of Turville, near High Wycombe
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The Vicar of Dibley is celebrates 30 years with stained glass installations
An enormous stained glass-inspired artwork dedicated to The Vicar of Dibley was unveiled at the site where the much-loved sitcom was filmed to commemorate its 30th anniversary.
The towing 15ft by 6ft artwork, featuring iconic moments and side-splitting jokes from the series, was unveiled in the Buckinghamshire village of Turville, near High Wycombe, where the village’s St Mary the Virgin Church doubled as the show’s St Barnabus. The 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.
More than 20 ‘ Easter eggs ‘ from the show’s 30-year history feature within the artwork, will test the knowledge of even the keenest Dibley fan. The installation, unveiled by celebrity vicar Rev. Kate Bottley, will temporarily be in place before being gifted to a superfan. Broadcaster Reverend Bottley said: “I can’t believe The Vicar of Dibley is celebrating 30 years of wisdom, fun, and most of all laughs. It’s an honour to unveil this stained-glass window for the show’s 30th anniversary, which is being celebrated by U&GOLD.
“Despite not being an actual vicar Geraldine was, in a funny way, a sort of inspiration to me all those years ago when I started on my clerical path. This includes her fearless approach to parish life and tackling prejudice wherever she went with humour, kindness and compassion.
“Seeing this incredible artwork reminds me of all the brilliant Dibley moments from the show, there are simply too many to celebrate. I’m still trying to work out some of them, see how many you can spot.” The episode where Dawn French’s character plunges into a deceptively deep puddle has been crowned Brits’ favourite moment of the hit comedy and features in the artwork.
A poll of 2,000 adults voted the hilarious moment from the 1999 episode Autumn, where a loved-up Geraldine Granger is on a country walk with hunky boyfriend Simon Horton, their favourite. The scene shows the amorous couple meander through the countryside playfully jumping in puddles before Geraldine jumps in one so deep that she ends up in chest-high water.
Hot on its heels in second place, and featuring in the artwork, is The Christmas Lunch incident, where Geraldine attends four gut-busting Christmas dinners. Rounding off the top three is episode Animals where verger Alice Tinker really ‘can’t believe it’s not butter’. The survey, done on behalf of UKTV, was held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Vicar of Dibley, which airs on U&GOLD on Sundays throughout November, with all episodes available on demand.
Brits were quizzed on their favourite moments of the beloved hit show, their favourite characters and what about it appealed to them so much. The show is still much loved with the humour (62%), characters (59%) and heart-warming feel of the show (38%) making it particularly memorable for Brits.
Geraldine Granger was voted the nation’s favourite character, followed by Alice Tinker and Jim Trott. bProtagonist Geraldine’s humour and wit, her breaking down of stereotypes and her comedic timing were voted as the top reasons why Brits rate her as a ‘comedy icon’.
Gerald Casey, Director of Programming Comedy & Entertainment, said: “We’re so excited to be able to celebrate 30 years of The Vicar of Dibley with our special stained-glass window. It feels like yesterday when Geraldine turned up in the village to much furore. But, as we all know, she won over not just the hearts of Dibley but the nation too.
“There are too many favourite moments to mention, but you can catch them all on U&GOLD this month, along with a whole load of Christmas specials taking place throughout December to remind you of how much fun The Vicar of Dibley has provided us over the years.”
The Vicar of Dibley airs on U&GOLD on Sundays throughout November, with Christmas specials continuing the 30th celebrations into December.
The 10 most memorable Vicar of Dibley moments, according to Brits
- Geraldine falling in the puddle – Geraldine trips and falls into a large puddle right outside the vicarage in the episode ‘Arrival’. This running gag is revisited multiple times in the series.
- The Christmas lunch incident – Geraldine finds herself having to attend four Christmas lunches. The first she happily accepts and reluctantly accepts the next three as she does not want to disappoint or offend those offering who are relying on her attendance.
- Alice just can’t believe it’s not butter – Alice shares her amazement to the fact that ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter’ is in fact, not butter.
- Alice and Hugo’s wedding – With Teletubbies bridesmaids, a wedding crasher and Jim over-enthusiastically belting out Spice Girls’ hit 2 Become 1, Alice and Hugo’s nuptials were every bit as chaotic as you’d imagined them to have been.
- Alice gives birth – As the residents of Dibley attempted to put on a nativity no-one was expecting Alice to give birth to a real baby while playing a heavily pregnant Mary.
- Geraldine and Darcey Bussell’s ballet performance – Geraldine arranges a performance with Darcey Bussell for the village charity gala.
- Geraldine’s first day – Geraldine arrives in Dibley and introduces herself to the parish council. Her attempts to make a good impression are met with hilariously awkward reactions from the villagers.
- Jim’s best man speech – Jim pays Geraldine a visit to test out his best man speech on her, which just so happens to be a rendition of the Abba classic Knowing Me, Knowing You.
- Sean Bean saves the day – After accepting a bizarre marriage proposal from stuffy David Horton, Geraldine has anxiety-induced dreams about their possible wedding day.
- The ‘open the door’ scene – A running joke where the villagers struggle to open the church door, resulting in comedic antics.