Vicar Of Dibley Christmas Special Leaves Viewers Divided After Keeping Characters Alive That Have Died IRL

The Vicar of Dibley returned on Monday night for the first of three special Christmas episodes in a series, named The Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown.

The BBC specials see Dawn French reprise her role as vicar Geraldine Grainger, and deliver monthly sermons to her parishioners via Zoom.

However, the reaction from viewers was mixed, after some characters were mentioned as if they were still alive, despite the actors who played them having since passed away.

During Monday's episode, Geraldine casually spoke about Owen Newitt (played by Roger Lloyd-Pack), while John Bluthal, who played the character Frank Pickle was also mentioned.

This is despite the fact that Roger passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2014 and Frank passed away from natural causes in 2018. Liz Smith (Letitia) passed away in 2016 and Emma Chambers (Alice Tinker) died in 2018.

"It's so weird seeing this #vicarofdibley thing given how much of the cast is dead, the show was the cast, not just the vicar. Shouting at dead Frank is just odd...," one person Tweeted.

Another viewer said: "I am more annoyed with the #VicarOfDibley for pretending certain characters are still alive than any political protest.

"It could have been a beautifully poignant moment to pay tribute to the loss of the actors who played Alice, Frank and Owen."

On the other hand, one fan of the show wrote: "Nice to see Geraldine back tonight. Also sweet the characters of Frank and Owen are still about keeping the memory alive. Hugo was daft as always"

Dawn previously confirmed during an interview with This Morning that the Christmas special would mention characters played by actors who have since passed away.

The actress gave fans a hint of what to expect in the upcoming 'lockdown specials' which will run in three parts over the festive period.

"There are silly jokes, but we also pay a tribute to those who aren't with us anymore," she said.

"So you know, Dibley has always been able to wrap its arms around the truth as well as being silly and funny."

Dawn added: "Like everything in Dibley, there's funny silly stuff, you know, there's stuff about people getting stuck in the church when they were flower arranging when this lockdown started, so they're still in the church now."

The Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown continues on Mondays at 8.50pm on BBC One