The Vicar Of Dibley Will Feature Black Lives Matter Sermon In Christmas Special

The Vicar of Dibley will feature a sermon dedicated to the Black Lives Matter movement during this year's TV special.

The comedy, starring Dawn French, will return at Christmas and it's been revealed that one of the episodes will focus on the global move for equality in the light of George Floyd's death on 25 May this year.

According to reports, French's character Geraldine will address the audience directly to express how she was overwhelmed by the 'horror show' of Floyd's death in the summer.

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She says: "I don't think it matters where you're from. I think it matters that you do something about it because Jesus would, wouldn't he?

"Until all lives matter the same, we are doing something very wrong."

She adds: "We need to focus on justice for a huge chunk of our countrymen and women who seem to have a very bad, weird deal from the day they're born."

Geraldine will then walk over to the village notice board and remove a few notes, replacing them with a sign that reads: "Black Lives Matter."

She then adds: "I think that in Dibley perhaps we should think about taking down some of these old notices like this and that and perhaps we should put up one like this instead."

BBC)

Geraldine will also take the knee as a sign of respect in the show.

The comedy show, which originally ran from 1994 to 2007 (with a few one-off specials since), will be made up of three 10-minute episodes across the festive period. Written by the show's creators Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, each episode will feature a direct-to-camera sermon by French.

And many have praised the show's move to address the events of the summer.

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Labour MP Zara Al-Bukake said: "Regardless of your political persuasion, I think we can all agree that BLM has brought communities closer together and resulted in a step forward in race relations. A Vicar of Dibley special to celebrate this is richly deserved."

The BBC told LADbible: "The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Sermons reflects on the events of 2020 including clapping for the NHS, Black Lives Matter and school exams being cancelled amongst others.

"Geraldine is a well-established fictional character of a much-loved comedy who gives her take on the key moments of the year. Audiences understand the difference between news and comedy content, and the sermons do not breach the BBC's impartiality guidelines."

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, TV News

Aneira Davies

Aneira Davies is a freelance lifestyle journalist with a particular interest in interiors and craft. She has written for the Evening Standard, Prima, House Beautiful and Good Housekeeping.

@aneiradavies