Contemporary Fictional Representations of Anglican Clergy on British Public Service Television

Fictional clergy on British television have come a long way since the bumbling priests portrayed by the likes of Derreck Nimmo and Rowan Atkinson. Motivated by curiosity about both the impetus for and creative development of more recent programmes depicting Anglican vicars with depth and authenticity, this research presents three detailed production studies of television series appearing in the period of the mid 1990s and following.

The programmes selected as case studies are The Vicar of Dibley (BBC One, 1994-2007); Rev. (BBC Two, 2010-14); and the Welsh drama Parch (S4C, 2015-18), each of which represents a significant progression in British entertainment media's depiction of Anglican
clergy.

The study is contextualised within a consideration of the Church of England’s evolving status within British society over the past century, as well as an accompanying summary of the Church in Wales and its distinct origins. It is also grounded in an exploration of the development of public service broadcasting, specifically as a medium charged with producing programmes to a high standard on a variety of subjects, including those
dealing with religion.

This research stands alone as a production study specifically focused on fictional priest portrayals created for British public service broadcasting. The resulting discussion connects depictions of clergy with the social and religious contexts in which they arise, illuminates the potential of well-produced entertainment to impact how the public perceive the plight of priests as real people, and emphasises the value of public media as disseminator of quality, socially relevant entertainment.