Dawn French to perform Thought For The Day as The Vicar Of Dibley
Dawn French has agreed to resurrect her Vicar Of Dibley character Geraldine Granger again.
The comedy star will deliver a speech on Radio 4 in character as the Reverend as part of the station's Character Invasion day. The station is giving over its schedule on Saturday 29th March to "the nation's best-loved characters."
French will perform an alternative Thought For The Day as part of the Today programme. Thought for the Day has been running on Radio 4 each Monday to Saturday morning since 1970. Normally delivered by a religious leader, it is described as offering a "unique reflection from a faith perspective on topical issues and news events."
Nowadays, the slot is 2 minutes and 45 seconds long and is released as a free podcast after the broadcast too.
The script for the special Thought For The Day has been written by The Vicar Of Dibley creator Richard Curtis. The exact topic of the speech is expected to be kept under wraps until it is broadcast.
The BBC confirms: "Dawn French will be stepping back into Reverend Geraldine Granger's shoes and heading out of Dibley to offer her alternative Thought For The Day on the Today programme, written especially for Character Invasion by Richard Curtis."
The Vicar Of Dibley focused on the inhabitants of a fictional small Oxfordshire village as they came to terms with the fact that their new Vicar was female. Voted one of Britain's best ever sitcoms and recognised in being an important part of helping to change society's views on the role of women within the church, the show ran on the BBC from 1994 to 2007. The special episodes to conclude the sitcom rank amongst the most watched comedy episodes of the decade.
This won't be the first time French has resurrected her character. In March 2013 she performed as Geraldine as part of the French & Saunders marathon on Radio 2, and for Comic Relief in the same month she starred in a new 10 minute Vicar Of Dibley special.
Last week Dawn French announced her first ever solo comedy tour. Titled 30 Million Minutes, the show will start in June 2014. The comedy star has said she is "sick with excitement": Full Story
Dawn French will appear in Thought For The Day at approximately 7.45am on Saturday 29th March on Radio 4.
Radio 4's Character Invasion day will also feature a new live broadcast of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy: Full Story
Below is the 9 minute 2013 Comic Relief Vicar Of Dibley special. It sees Geraldine and the parishioners heading to London to try and help ensure the Church approves the ordination of female bishops.