Geraldine Granger is a fictional female vicar, the central character of the successful British BBC

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The Vicar of Dibley ''The Vicar of Dibley'' is a British sitcom. It consists of three series, which aired on BBC One from 10 November 1994 to 1 January 2000, and several specials, the most recent of which aired on 23 December 2020. It is set in the fictional Oxfor ...

''. She is portrayed by

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian and writer. She is known for writing and starring on the BBC sketch comedy series '' French and Saunders'' (1987–2007) with her best friend and comedy partner Jennifer Sa ...

, described by the British Comedy Guide as "the jolly, down-to-earth female vicar of Dibley, a small country village inhabited by oddballs. After overcoming the town's initial shock at her gender Geraldine helps to improve the village." Much of the source of comedy comes from the way French plays the female vicar with her extroverted and fun-loving nature, frequent colourful language, and behaviour as a vicar which would usually be frowned on by the church. The character made her debut in 1994 and has been reprised several times after the conclusion of the series in 2007. Several of these appearances have been in sketches for

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

, most recently as part of the Comic Relief/

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

''Big Night In'' fundraising event during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

epidemic. French also reprised the character on 15 March 2013 for a ''

French and Saunders ''French and Saunders'' is a British sketch comedy television series written by and starring comedy duo and namesake Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders that originally broadcast on BBC2 from 1987 to 1993, and later on BBC One until 2017. It is al ...

'' marathon on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

, 29 March 2014 for '' Thought for the Day'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, and in December 2020 for three ''Vicar of Dibley in Lockdown'' shorts aired on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

Character

Granger introduced herself to a shocked parish council, leading her to remark: "You were expecting a bloke - beard, bible, bad breath. And instead, you got a babe with a

bob cut A bob cut, also known as a bob, is a short to medium length haircut, in which the hair is typically cut straight around the head at approximately jaw level, and no longer than shoulder-length, often with a fringe at the front. The standard bob ...

and a magnificent bosom." She is a bonne vivante and a liberal woman who enjoys nothing more than a good laugh, much to the consternation of her primary antagonist David Horton ( Gary Waldhorn). Despite her fun-loving and sometimes outrageous behaviour, she is deeply caring and does her best to help those in her parish in any way she can. She is well aware of her obesity but seems to take a relatively laid-back attitude toward it. A self-confessed chocoholic, her favourites being

Crunchie Crunchie is a brand of chocolate bar with a centre of honeycomb toffee (known as "sponge toffee" in Canada and "honeycomb" or "cinder toffee" in the United Kingdom as well as "hokey pokey" in New Zealand). It is made by Cadbury but was originally ...

Smarties Smarties are dragée chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of about and a major axis ...

and Curly Wurlys, she has innumerable chocolate bars hidden throughout her house (even in hollowed-out

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

s). On one occasion, she gives up chocolate for

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

and nearly goes mad but does succeed. She has an enormous crush on actor

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...

. She is a Labour supporter. Despite her kind-hearted nature, Geraldine is not above occasional arrogance. In the second-season episode "Celebrity Vicar", after a spot on local radio led to several high-profile media appearances, Geraldine allowed fame to go to her head becoming overconfident and self-centred, caring more about her public image and TV career than about her parishioners or her duties as a vicar. She was later humbled after the tabloids printed several offensive articles about the members of the village council and she struggled to regain their trust. Her unusual first name Boadicea is revealed later in the series, much to David Horton's amusement, although in the final episode her full name is given as Geraldine Julie Andrews Dick van Dyke Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Chim-Chiminey Chim-Chiminey Chim-Chim-Cheree Granger, the latter due to her mother's favourite book being ''

Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...

'' and the fact that the

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

was released in 1964, supposedly the year of Geraldine's birth. Geraldine celebrated her 40th birthday in an episode first broadcast on 1 January 2005. Dawn French was already 47 at the time. Her best friend is Alice Tinker ( Emma Chambers); at the end of each episode she tells a joke to Alice, but Alice rarely understands the humour. Geraldine was once going to marry David Horton but upon reflection decided against this. In 2006, she receives a proposal from

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

Harry Kennedy and accepts by running around the village, screaming. In the final episode she marries him in a bizarre wedding with touches of ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'', including the two bridesmaids being dressed as

Daleks The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of extremely xenophobic mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Na ...

and with parts of the church decorated with vegetables. She ends up getting married in her pyjamas because her wedding dress has been accidentally covered with mud by Owen Newitt (

Roger Lloyd-Pack Roger Anthony Lloyd-Pack (8 February 1944 – 16 January 2014) was a British actor. He is best known for playing Trigger in ''Only Fools and Horses'' from 1981 to 2003, and Owen Newitt in ''The Vicar of Dibley'' from 1994 to 2007. He later star ...

) driving a car through a puddle.

References

{{reflist Comedy television characters Television characters introduced in 1994 Fictional Christian priests Fictional English people English female characters in sitcoms The Vicar of Dibley

Character

See also

References