Chaser Anne Hegerty mocks ex-Ukip leader Gerard Batten for 'satanist' Vicar Of Dibley claim
Dawn French reprises her much-loved character Geraldine Granger in three new ten-minute episodes of The Vicar Of Dibley this Christmas, with the plot focused on her experience of lockdown
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Chaser Anne Hegerty has labelled ex-Ukip leader Gerard Batten an "idiot" for his claims the Vicar Of Dibley is "satanist".
Former I'm A Celebrity star Anne, 62, called out Batten after he tweeted that the BBC should be defunded because star Dawn French wore an upside-down cross in the popular comedy show.
The 66-year-old wrote: "Dawn French, the BBC's Vicar of Dibley wears an upside down cross. This is a symbol of Satanism. This isn’t a prop depart mistake. This is what we are forced to pay the License Fee for. DEFUND the BBC!"
In response Anne, known as The Governess on the popular TV quiz show, tweeted: "I can't work out if you're an idiot or this is a huge joke."
Far from being silenced, Batten - who led Ukip from 2018 to 2019 - retweeted former journalist-turned-professional-quizzer Anne's put down.
"I'm surprised this has triggered so many people?" he wrote, tagging Anne, who has appeared on shows including Mastermind, Fifteen To One, Today's The Day, Are you An Egghead? and Brain Of Britain.
Batten then referred to the fact that in Christianity, an upside down cross typically honours St Peter, who was said to have requested to be crucified upside down because he felt he was not good enough to be killed in the same way as Jesus.
"They haven't said 'she is signifying her reverence for St Peter'. A statement that would have to be defended. They deny it’s a symbol of mockery & Satanism - which it is. I'm surprised so many noticed or cared."
His tweet came after it was announced that Dawn, 63, would reprise her much-loved character of Geraldine Granger, now Kennedy, in three 10-minute TV specials this Christmas.
One episode will see the vicar take the knee and deliver a Black Lives Matter sermon, in which she mentions the "horror show" killing of George Floyd and call out racism.
The other episodes will tackle Geraldine's lockdown experience, including jokes about virtual quizzes and drinking.
The show will also see Dawn pay tribute to her late castmate Emma Chambers, who played Alice Tinker.
Geraldine speaks movingly of her friend Alice, who died leaving her husband Hugo, played by James Fleet, heartbroken.
Dawn said the scenes were incredibly tough to complete. "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."
Chambers, much-loved by fans as dippy blonde Alice who famously never understood Geraldine’s jokes, died in 2018 from a heart attack aged 53.
MirrorCeleb