It’s impossible to imagine anyone but Dawn French playing Geraldine Grainger in The Vicar Of Dibley, but it could have all been so different.
A producer on the classic BBC comedy has revealed that the show’s writer and creator, Richard Curtis, originally had other actors in mind to take on the lead role.
In an exclusive interview with HuffPost UK, producer Peter Bennet Jones says the role was written for a “forthright comic actress” but stopped short of naming names.
“It wasn’t written for Dawn but she made it her own,” Peter said.. “Richard wrote it for a forthright comic actress. I think he might have even seen three or four different people have a go at it. Dawn got cast and the rest is history as it were.”
He continued: “I know he had a couple of other people but I think the right call was made. She just made it her own. She knows where comedy is - she’s a comic actress really, you can’t really imagine it without her, funnily enough.”
After signing up for the role, Peter also revealed that Dawn was worried about playing the vicar.
Peter explains: “Joy Carroll [one of the first female vicars in the UK] made Dawn feel much happier about doing the show because she told Dawn that vicars can drink and eat chocolate and have a sex life.
“Dawn was worried about doing the part… [She was worried it] might be a bit pious. Joy Carroll was such a force of nature.”
The Vicar Of Dibley has returned this month for three 10-minute specials starring Dawn as the beloved vicar.
Dawn says she broke down in tears as she struggled to film a tribute to late co-star Emma Chambers, who played Alice Tinker, during one of the new episodes.
Emma died in 2018 at the age of 53 after suffering a heart attack, and the sitcom will mirror real life events when Dawn’s character Geraldine Grainger explains that Alice has died.
Speaking to The Mirror about the scenes, Dawn said: “Along with all the silly, funny stuff, there is a moment where we pay tribute to Alice and that was not easy to film.
“Honestly, I had to do it seven times. I didn’t get through it once without tears but it’s really important to remember this is where real life and Dibley come together.
“[Writers] Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer have got this skill of making stuff funny and light but also being truthful and honest.”