[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Award-Winning “The Vicar Of Dibley” Celebrated With Royal Mail Special Stamps
- Royal Mail celebrates one of the UK’s most successful and award-winning comedy series with a set of 12 Special Stamps
- Issue Date: 14 January
- Eight stamps depict iconic scenes from the series, while a further four stamps, presented in a miniature sheet, shows a Dibley Parish Council meeting
- The stamps and a range of collectible products are available to pre-order at www.royalmail.com/vicarofdibley and by telephone on 03457 641641
Royal Mail is issuing 12 stamps to celebrate one of the UK’s most successful and award-winning comedy series”The Vicar of Dibley.”
The series, which ran on the BBC from November 1994 to January 2007, was set in the fictional Oxfordshire village of Dibley. Following the 1993 changes in the Church of England to permit the ordination of women, the series portrayed a female vicar who had been assigned to the church in the village.
Starring Dawn French in the titular role of the down-to-earth, witty and clever vicar, Geraldine Granger, the character was specially created for her by writers Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer. French was surrounded by a who’s who of seasoned TV professionals: “Only Fools and Horses” legend Roger Lloyd-Pack as fearsome farmer Owen; Emma Chambers as dotty verger Alice; floppy-fringed “Four Weddings and a Funeral” star James Fleet as the hapless Hugo; and TV veteran Gary Waldhorn as his domineering, aristocratic father, David.
It is among the most successful British programmes, receiving multiple British Comedy Awards, an International Emmy and was a multiple British Academy Television Awards nominee.
A further four stamps, presented in a miniature sheet, shows a Dibley Parish Council meeting.
David Gold, Director of External Affairs and Policy said: “The superb writing and the warmth and idiosyncrasies of its characters made “The Vicar of Dibley” one of the most loved TV comedies of all time. We celebrate the series with new stamps revisiting some of the show’s classic moments.”
“The Vicar of Dibley”
Just eight months after the first 32 British women were ordained as Church of England vicars, a sitcom debuted on the BBC that not only became a beloved small-screen institution but also helped an entire nation understand the controversial decision. Created and co-written by “Four Weddings and a Funeral” and “Blackadder” mastermind Richard Curtis, alongside co-writer Paul Mayhew-Archer, “The Vicar of Dibley” introduced audiences to a new kind of priest – Geraldine Granger, the chocolate-eating, plain-spoken but warm-hearted new vicar who initially horrifies her parishioners in the sleepy English village of Dibley.
But even the members of the parish council – including pompous landowner David, his perky son Hugo, straight-talking farmer Owen and verbally-challenged eccentric Jim – soon warm to Geraldine, thanks to her innate personal charm, forgiving nature and snappy way with a one-liner. Indeed, the only person her wit doesn’t work on is Alice, the scatterbrained verger who becomes Geraldine’s best friend despite constantly misunderstanding her jokes.
“The Vicar of Dibley” ran for three series [“seasons” in the U.S.] with multiple festive specials and Comic Relief shorts. In 2020, “The Vicar of Dibley” was named Britain’s third-favourite sitcom of all time in a BBC poll.
Individual Stamp Descriptions:
2nd Class: Geraldine officiates at Alice and Hugo’s chaotic wedding ceremony.
2nd Class: After hearing that Alice and Hugo are expecting a baby, Geraldine tries to force a smile from David.
1st Class: Geraldine attempts to tell Alice a joke over a cup of tea in the vestry.
1st Class: An unsuspecting Geraldine jumps into a very deep puddle.
£1.00: Frank and Owen perform in the Dibley Christmas show.
£1.00: To avoid waking Alice and Hugo’s baby, Jim writes his characteristic response to a question on a flash card.
£2.80: Geraldine samples one of Letitia’s unusual sandwich creations.
£2.80: Geraldine performs a ballet duet with Dame Darcey Bussell.
The collectibles include a Collectors Sheet (above, £17.10 or framed £39.99), various first day covers with either the Tallent House or Turville, Henley-on-Thames postmarks (below, 8 stamps, £15.80, or minisheet, £8.60), a press sheet and various configurations of sheets of stamps.
