Dawn French addresses co-star Emma Chambers

In contrast, the instalments show the vicar speaking about Owen Newitt (Roger Lloyd-Pack) and Frank Pickle (John Bluthal), who are kept alive in the show but not seen, a decision made by director and co-writer Richard Curtis.

And it was something Dawn “completely agreed with”.

“People know Dibley as an ensemble piece, they inherit all the other people, even though it’s just me, talking,” she said in a recent interview.

“In a funny way, the audience becomes the other characters. They are the heart of Dibley.