The Vicar of Dibley: The Immaculate Collection

Laughter is good for the soul?now fill your soul with this overflowing coffer of comedy. The sleepy little country village of Dibley was blindsided by the arrival of a new vicar for St. Barnabus who had the audacity to be a woman! Over twelve ensuing years, Geraldine?with the help of a sharp wit, a double dose of double entendre, a taste for rock 'n' roll and a healthy supply of chocolate?gradually won the hearts of even the crustiest of the church's conservative and eccentric parishioners. Boasting the brilliant comedic writing of Richard Curtis (Notting Hill, Bridget Jones's Diary) and a gifted ensemble cast led by Dawn French of the hilarious comedy duo, French & Saunders, this collection contains every episode and special created for this brilliant award-winning series, plus Comic Relief sketches, "making-of " featurettes, behind-thescenes footage, outtakes and more.

Series 1
Arrival - The Dibley Parish Council have requested that the Bishop provide them a new Vicar after the death of the nonagenarian Percy Pottle. However, when the new Vicar turns up on the doorstep of Parish Council Chairman, David Horton, he is astounded to find that their new man is a woman: Geraldine!

Songs of Praise - The BBC religious series, Songs of Praise, sends a production team to Dibley to tape one of their programs. Geraldine and David have misgivings about this, but Gerry (as she likes to be called) develops a crush on producer, Tristan, while David casts his eye on production assistant, Ruth.

Community Spirit - Geraldine takes on the organization of the annual Autumn Fair and promises to have a featured guest more celebrated than last year's event. Alice, the Verger, tells Geraldine that her cousin is Reg Dwight. And everyone knows that Elton John's real name is....

Window - Dibley is hit by a hurricane, and the fierce storm blows out the stained glass window of St. Barnabas church. The cost of a new window will be at least £11,000, but Geraldine is confident that she can raise this amount from among David's wealthy contacts.

Election - David has been the Councillor in a safe Tory seat for a number of years. But when Geraldine becomes concerned that not enough has been done for his constituency, David finds he now has a village that is prepared to vote for the Vicar.

Animals - Geraldine plans to hold a special service of blessing in St. Barnabas Church for all the animals of the village. As the day approaches she becomes concerned. Will all the animals be properly house trained while in church? Moreover, will any of them try to eat one of the others?

Series 2
The Easter Bunny - When David suggests Geraldine gives up chocolate for Lent, she agrees. But has she enough willpower, especially with David going out of his way to tempt her? Alice is convinced that the Easter Bunny exists and lives in Dibley, but Geraldine is even more surprised when she discovers that so do the rest of the villagers! Letitia is in on the secret and passes it onto Geraldine just before she dies.

The Christmas Lunch Incident - Christmas is coming and Geraldine is having problems preparing her sermon for “the biggest gig of the year”. But she is looking forward to opening all 30 of her chocolate Advent calendars and then, of course, there’s all that lovely turkey, roast potatoes and Christmas pudding on Christmas Day. Unfortunately, this year she receives four separate invitations to Christmas dinner and is too kind-hearted to let anyone down...

Engagement - Lovebirds Alice and Hugo have been stuck in the "Gazing Soppily At Each Other" phase of their relationship for nearly a decade now. Geraldine feels it is time to move on and decides to play Cupid. It's not easy but, once she sets the ball rolling and they kiss, it proves even more difficult to prise them apart. While everyone else thinks it will be a marriage made in heaven, David is totally opposed and threatens to disown Hugo. Matters become even more complicated when Geraldine receives an unexpected and unwelcome marriage proposal from Owen Newitt.

Dibley Live - Geraldine sets up Radio Dibley in a bid to bring the community closer together. It should prove interesting as Hugo only has two records for which to DJ, and Alice is busy trying to impress David enough to make him think her a worthy wife for Hugo. Geraldine conducts the world’s first phone-in without a single telephone call, then there is Radio Dibley’s Brain of Britain Quiz Night, and a real surprise for everyone when Frank comes out of the closet.

Celebrity Vicar - When Geraldine is asked to be Terry Wogan's guest on BBC Radio 2's Pause For Thought, she suddenly gets a taste of fame and it goes to her head. The papers print unkind articles on everyone, and Geraldine gets the blame. She comes to her senses in time for the local variety show, a memorable occasion featuring Owen's farting duck, Jim doing the Full Monty, and the prima ballerina from the Royal Ballet and her less elegant new dancing partner.

Love and Marriage - Geraldine prepares for Alice and Hugo's wedding day – there's Alice's dress to discuss, a best man to sort out, and a bachelorette party to be had! Just when everything seems fine, Alice reveals a hitch that might just be the biggest hitch in the history of hitches. And Geraldine has fallen hopelessly in love, but will her affections be reciprocated?

Series 3
Autumn - Back home after an extended honeymoon, newlywed Alice is worried that she is getting fat and losing her sexual allure. Neither she nor Hugo have a clue that a baby Horton is on its way. Geraldine has to explain to Alice what is happening. Alice’s new father-in-law, David, is stunned into silence when he hears the news and even more so when he hears the suggestions for the baby’s name.

Winter - The Dibley Parish Council puts on a Christmas nativity play that none will forget. Hugo makes a complete bodge of organising it, so Geraldine conducts a series of strange auditions and hastily masterminds the show. On the night, a heavily pregnant Alice (Mary) arrives at the inn on the back of Owen’s tractor; Jim, Frank and Owen make unusual wise men; David's (Herod) is nicer than normal; and Hugo's Joseph is about to become a father in more ways than one.

Spring - Alice is busy arranging the forthcoming christening for the latest addition to the Horton family. The Bishop of Mulberry has been summoned to baptise her baby girl and the god-parents have been chosen, but, to grandfather David’s horror, there is still much deliberation over the baby’s full name. Geraldine appears to be getting a little broody and when a surprise proposal comes her way, it leaves her flustered and bewildered.

Summer - This summer in Dibley is a scorcher, and there is a water shortage. Unable to wash their clothes, the villagers are appearing in a strange assortment of garments, especially Alice in her Wonder Woman outfit. But the water company has plans for worse; they want to build a reservoir and flood the village. Residents have been offered large sums in compensation, and the parish is divided. Geraldine takes drastic action and chains herself to the church railings, sparking a village-wide protest. But will it be enough to persuade the water authority to pull the plug on the reservoir?

10^th Anniversary Specials
Merry Christmas - You don’t often see a supermodel in her undies in the village vicarage. As fast as rumors can fly, the entire village of Dibley believes their chocoholic female vicar, Geraldine, is one of England’s first lesbian vicars.

Happy New Year - Convinced once more that their vicar’s heart beats to a heterosexual drum, the villagers give her a surprise she’ll never forget.

 A Holy Wholly Happy Ending
The Handsome Stranger - Geraldine is annoyed when she learns that another townie has moved into Dibley, so she goes round to see Harry Kennedy (played by Richard Armitage), who is an accountant, and instantly falls for him and the attraction is mutual. However, she soon sees him with an attractive woman called Rosie (played by Keeley Hawes), but it later turns out she is Harry's sister. He proposes to Geraldine, and she accepts. Meanwhile, Geraldine starts a book club and an art class. Also, after reading The Da Vinci Code Alice thinks that as her name rhymes with chalice she must be descended from Jesus.

The Vicar in White - Geraldine is looking forward to organising her own wedding to Harry (played by Richard Armitage), but the villagers insist on arranging it for her, thinking they are doing her a favour, and she doesn't have the heart to tell them otherwise. Hugo does a This Is Your Life for Geraldine, but this is interrupted by a powercut. The evening before the wedding, Owen, Jim and Jeremy Ogilvy (played by Hugh Bonneville), an old college friend who Geraldine has chosen to conduct her wedding, all propose to her. On her wedding day, her white dress is ruined when Owen drives the car through a puddle and the dress is covered with mud. Geraldine then goes to the church in her pyjamas, and bridesmaid Alice is dressed as the Tenth Doctor with two Daleks, and Geraldine marries Harry. After the ceremony, Geraldine literally flies up into the sky as a sign of happiness.

Cast

Geraldine Grainger	---	Dawn French
David Horton	---	Gary Waldhorn
Alice Tinker	---	Emma Chambers
Hugo Horton	---	James Fleet
Owen Nesbitt	---	Roger Lloyd Pack
Frank Pickle	---	John Bluthal
Jim Trott	---	Trevor Peacock
Letitia Cropley	---	Liz Smith
Harry	---	Richard Armitage

Production Credits

Written by Richard Curtis, Paul Mayhew-Archer, Kit Hesketh-Harvey
Directed by Martin Dennis, Gareth Carrivick, John Howard Davies, Dewi Humphreys, Ed Bye
Produced by Jon Plowman, Philippa Catt, Margot Gavan Duffy, Sue Vertue, Sophie Clarke-Jervoise
Executive Produced by Richard Curtis, Peter Bennett-Jones, Jon Plowman

British Comedy Awards
1998 - Best TV Comedy Actress - Emma Chambers
1997 - Best TV Comedy Actress - Dawn French

“Gloriously daft characters and the jokes are not just comical but clever as well.” -Daily Mirror

“I have been converted... I keep laughing.” -News of the World

Geraldine is the vicar's middle name, she admits in one episode that her first name is actually Boadicea. However in the final episode she gives her name as 'Geraldine Julie Andrews Dick Van Dyke Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Granger', during her wedding.