The Vicar of Dibley: Dawn French and James Fleet to star in Christmas mini-series filmed in lockdown

The three 10-minute-long episodes will air over Christmas on BBC One

The Vicar of Dibley will be returning to our screens with three special episodes airing this Christmas.

Dawn French will get everyone into the festive spirit as she reprises the role of vicar Geraldine Grainger as part of a mini-series titledThe Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown.

Written by Richard Curtis, the episodes will show the monthly sermons that Geraldine has been delivering to her parishioners over Zoom, with Hugo Horton (James Fleet) also appearing in the sketches.

“Back in the dog collar, back in Dibley and back on your telly at Xmas,” French said. “I couldn’t be happier. Bless you.”

Love Actually writer Curtis said of the show’s return: “Like every village in the country, there’s been a lot happening in Dibley this year – and Dawn has got a lot to say about it.”

Dawn French said she ‘couldn’t be happier’ to see the show return this Christmas (BBC / Comic Relief / Children In Need)

The 10-minute-long episodes will air after repeats of classic episodes of The Vicar of Dibley that will be shown on BBC One over Christmas.

The series originally ran from 1994 to 2006, with French reprising the character for a number of short specials in the years since.

Earlier this year, the comedian starred as Geraldine in a short sketch for Comic Relief and Children in Need fundraiser The Big Night In, during which she urged viewers to “praise the Lord and the NHS”.