Fashion disasters or forbidden fruit; what is it that makes fictional vicars such fabulous characters?
Fictional vicars and priests are often portrayed in one of two ways, either they’ve got halitosis, a wardrobe fully of hand-crocheted tank tops and elasticated nylon trousers, or they’re brooding, handsome and filled with angst from the torment of forbidden love. When I plotted A Leap of Faith for the Cornish Midwife, I joked with my editor that I’d be including a hot vicar to set pulses racing in Port Agnes. But Noah doesn’t really fit either of the stereotypes I’ve described. Although he’s got his fair share of admirers in the congregation and an Instagram following of people who definitely think he’s hot, it’s not all about the way he looks. For me, there are other qualities that make someone attractive and ‘hot’ is not even a term I’d use to describe someone in real life. If I did, my children would probably disown me! Which means that the vicars and priests who’ve made it on to my ‘hot list’ are either there as the perfect representation of troubled heroes, or because they embody kindness, self-belief and the quiet strength needed to help others through the toughest of times. Reverend Noah Andrews in A Leap of Faith for the Cornish Midwife is all of those things and I’d be including him in my list if I could. Admittedly, there might be more than person who did make it on to the list, who’s also pretty easy on the eye, but that’s just a coincidence I promise!
I had to start with Richard Chamberlain as Father Ralph de Bricassart in The Thorn Birds. The ultimate icon of forbidden love, tormented by his desire for a woman he can never have, unless he gives up everything he believes in. I was far too young to watch this series, but somehow I still remember it. I think there might have been some sneaky peeking through a crack in the sitting room door, when it was on the TV!
Next on my list is a vicar from a far more recent TV show The Split. Kobna Holdbrook-Smith plays Glen Peters, who first appears in the series as the vicar performing youngest sister, Rose’s wedding. In the final series he takes on a far more central role, but I don’t want to say too much in case it’s a spoiler for anyone who hasn’t finished the series yet. Suffice it to say, it’s his quiet strength and understanding that puts him on my list. Oh and his voice is simply beautiful too.
Next up is an entry that I think might be controversial, but he’s a character I absolutely adore for his generous heart and gentle humour. He’s the quintessential beta hero, but I could happily imagine being this particular vicar’s wife in a cottage somewhere in the Cotswolds. I’m talking about Reverend Francis Seaton from This Country, of course, played by the brilliant Paul Chahidi. Francis is unfailingly kind, but there are hidden depths too, with a wannabe-rock-star past and the ability to show his human side and finally run out of patience. He tries to make the lives of everyone around him better and I don’t care what anyone says, Reverend Seaton is staying on my list.
I couldn’t have a list without the modern-day equivalent of Father de Bricassart, the ultimate hot priest, created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge in the fantastic Fleabag series. Andrew Scott, who Sherlock fans might recognise as the evil Moriarty, took on the role of a priest as an antidote to always being cast as the villain. Andrew is a hero of mine, out of his cassock, after speaking out about how underrated he thinks romantic comedy is. What’s not to love about that? Although if you’re wondering what his character’s name in Fleabag is, nobody knows, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge has made it clear that she didn’t choose his nickname either ‘“I I didn’t call him the hot priest, the internet did!” It shows just how powerful online communities can be, which is something the new vicar in Port Agnes is also about to find out.
My penultimate pick is James Norton, playing the Reverend Sidney Cooper in Grantchester. Having not watched the series when it originally aired, when James was still in the role, I’m telling myself the reason I’m binge watching it now is as research for branching out into the murder mystery genre… James (don’t you love the way I’m talking about him like I know him!) described the traits he shares with the character in an interview with the New York Times in 2015: “He’s a normal guy who sees the best in people and wants to do the right thing but is always tempted off course.” I think that description sums up the fascination with vicars in all forms of fiction, they want to do right, but can be tempted to do wrong. What better tension can there be in a novel than that?
Sidney aka James very nearly made it to the top spot, but that could only be reserved for one person. Probably the three most attractive traits in existence are kindness, humour and a sense of self-worth. There is one vicar who embodies these qualities, but just so happens to be beautiful too.
Which means the number one spot could only ever have gone to the Vicar of Dibley’s Reverend Geraldine Granger, played by the more than a-tiny-bit-marvellous Dawn French and created by the king of romantic comedy, Richard Curtis. The scene with Darcey Bussell is an absolute classic, but Geraldine can always laugh at herself and encourages others to find the humour in life too. Her congregation is quirky to say the least, but even when they drive her to the edge, her kindness always shines through in the end. As for that elusive self-worth? Who doesn’t love a woman confident enough to declare to anyone who’ll listen that she has magnificent breasts and who quickly has half the village entranced by her ‘lovely arse’? Geraldine Granger was a pioneer of body confidence, before most of us had even heard of it. And for that reason, she’ll always be the consummate hot vicar for me.
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So that’s my list, now over to you. Share your ‘hot vicars’ and whatever it is that makes them hot in your eyes. I’d love to know if you’ve got any of the same names and we can play hot vicar snap!