World Stamps
Great Britain’s Royal Mail celebrates the ‘Vicar of Dibley’ sitcom Jan. 14

By David Hartwig
Great Britain’s Royal Mail celebrates
the sitcom the Vicar of Dibley with 12 stamps issued Jan. 14.
Stamps in a set of eight feature
shots from popular scenes of the show, and a souvenir sheet included with the
issue contains four additional stamps with characters from the show.
The Vicar of Dibley follows
the female vicar Geraldine Granger (Dawn French) who is assigned to the church
in the fictional Oxfordshire village of Dibley.
The show first aired on the BBC in
November 1994, only a year after changes in the Church of England allowed the
ordination of women in the church.
The stamps in the set of eight are
presented in four se-tenant (side-by-side) pairs. The stamps in one pair are
valued at the second-class rate (currently 85 pence), and the stamps in the
second pair are valued at the first-class rate (currently £1.65). A third pair
has stamps denominated £1, and the stamps in the fourth pair are denominated
£2.80 (the international standard rate for letters).
One of the second-class stamps shows
the wedding of Alice (Emma Chambers, 1964-2018), the church verger, and Hugo
(James Fleet). The other second-class stamp pictures Geraldine with councilor
David Horton (Gary Waldhorn, 1943-2022), chairman of the parish council and
father of Hugo.
A first-class stamp shows Alice and
Geraldine having a cup of tea. In the closing credits of most episodes, the two
have a cup of tea while Geraldine tries to tell Alice a joke that (almost)
always fails to land. The other first-class stamp shows Geraldine almost up to
her neck in muddy water after she jumped in what she thought was a regular mud
puddle.
A £1 stamp features Frank Pickle
(John Bluthal, 1929-2018), clerk of the parish council, and Owen Newitt (Roger
Lloyd-Pack, 1944-2014), farmer and a parish council member. The other £1 stamp
features Jim Trott (Trevor Peacock, 1931-2021), a parish council member whose
speech impediment causes him to preface almost everything he says with a
repetition of “No.”
In the show, Jim Trott takes over as
organist after the death of parish council member and organist Letitia Cropley
(Liz Smith, 1921-2016), who appears on a £2.80 stamp serving one of the many
questionable deserts she prepares during her time on the show.
The other £2.80 stamp pictures
Geraldine and retired ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell, who appears as herself in
one of the show’s episodes, as they take part in a dance-off. “Every great
sitcom needs an occasional big-name cameo,” Royal Mail said in a presentation
pack included with the issue, “but The Vicar of Dibley took it further
than most, with everyone from Hollywood stars and music icons to real-life
royalty stopping in for tea.”
The souvenir sheet features a
photograph of the parish council and includes four first-class stamps. Owen and
Geraldine appear on one stamp, Hugo and David on another, Frank on a third and
Letitia and Jim on the fourth.
The Vicar of Dibley ran until
2007, not including short reprises for programs such as Comic Relief, and is
among the most successful British shows. The show has received multiple British
Comedy awards, two International Emmys and was a multiple British Academy
Television awards nominee.
Royal Mail designed the stamps, and
True North designed the souvenir sheet. Cartor Security Printers printed them
by lithography.
The stamps in se-tenant pairs were
produced in sheets of 60 (sold in panes of 30 at most postal outlets). These
stamps measure 41 millimeters by 30mm each and are perforated gauge 14.5 by 14.
The souvenir sheet is 192mm by 74mm.
The stamps in the sheet are also 41mm by 30mm and perforated gauge 14.5 by 14.
All 12 stamps are self-adhesive.
A collectors sheet included with the
issue contains 10 stamps with attached labels featuring additional shots from
the same episodes as the shots shown on the stamps. The selvage of the sheet
pictures Geraldine and Alice next to the Vicar of Dibley logo.
Royal Mail offers a presentation pack
that includes the set of eight stamps and the souvenir sheet along with
illustrations and text.
First-day covers franked with either
the set of eight stamps or the souvenir sheet have two available postmarks
featuring popular quotes from the show. The standard Tallents House postmark
reads “No, No, No, Yes!” and a postmark from the village of Turville, where
outdoor scenes of the show were filmed, reads “Shall I minute that, sir?”
Similar to the 2024 issue celebrating
the Porridge sitcom, Royal Mail also is offering 13 postcards
reproducing the designs of the 12 stamps and the souvenir sheet, and a limited
run of 200 press sheets each with eight souvenir sheets.
The stamps and related products can be ordered from Royal Mail’s website. Ordering information also is available from Royal Mail, Tallents House, 21 S. Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB, Scotland.
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