THE Vicar of Dibley made a triumphant return tonight with followers thanking Daybreak French for “saving Christmas”.
The primary of three ‘In Lockdown’ episodes was hailed as “a welcome tonic” for bringing consolation to viewers through the coronavirus pandemic.
The Vicar of Dibley In Lockdown aired tonight with James Fleet and Daybreak French seen collectively on display
One scene noticed vicar Geraldine Granger reuniting with bumbling Hugo Horton (James Fleet) on a video name – however she cuts him off as he rambles on about nothing.
Viewers rushed to Twitter to applaud the present, with one tweeting: “TheVicarOfDibley oh Hugo ?! So beautiful to have a couple of new specials.”
One other fan wrote: “cherished watch the #TheVicarOfDibley in lockdown was nice to see the vicar once more #bbciplayer”
And one other mentioned: “@Dawn_French The best tonic all of us want #TheVicarOfDibley makes my coronary heart so full! Thanks ❤️”
Daybreak will take the knee in one of many new Vicar of Dibley Christmas episodes
Final month, it was confirmed Daybreak can be returning as beloved vicar Geraldine Granger – now Kennedy – in a sequence of Christmas Specials.
And in an upcoming episode she is about to take the knee and ship a Black Lives Matter sermon in an upcoming episode.
In one of many three 10-minutes episodes, Geraldine addresses the homicide of George Floyd by American law enforcement officials and racism as a wider situation.
Geraldine acknowledges that Dibley – the fictional Oxfordshire village the present is about in – is not essentially the most racially numerous, she says: “‘I do not assume it issues the place you are from.
“I feel it issues that you just do one thing about it as a result of Jesus would, would not he? Till all lives matter the identical, we’re doing one thing very flawed.”
Her character Geraldine Kennedy will ship a sermon on Black Lives Matter
It was confirmed final month that the present can be returning for 3 10-minute specials Credit score: BBC
“We have to concentrate on justice for an enormous chunk of our countrymen and girls who appear to have a really unhealthy, bizarre deal from the day they’re born.”
The episode differs vastly from the remainder of the sequence, which is written by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer.
Whereas some critics would possibly argue the episode could possibly be seen because the BBC undermining its place of being neutral on the problem of Black Lives Matter, a spokesperson for the Company has insisted this isn’t the case.
They instructed The Mail on Sunday: “Geraldine is a well-established fictional character of a much-loved comedy who provides her tackle the important thing moments of the 12 months.
“Audiences perceive the distinction between information and comedy content material and the sermons don’t breach the BBC’s impartiality tips.”
Some critics are questioning if the episode undermines the BBC’s place of being neutral on the problem of Black Lives MatterCredit score: Alamy
Daybreak, who lives in Cornwall, dismissed criticism over the forthcoming Black Lives Matter scene in an “ironic” tweet final night time.
She wrote on Twitter “A beautiful calm day, stuffed with humanity and help all spherical” after actor Lawrence Fox raged: “A sermon from the excessive altar of the church of ethical superiority, the BBC.
“This virtuous false enlightenment permits them to disregard the constitution to coach the nice unwashed. Do your job! #DefundTheBBC.”
