Vicar of Dibley goes to the US

The Vicar of Dibley is to become the latest British sitcoms to be remade for America.

Rupert Murdoch’s Fox network has greenlit a pilot, renamed The Minister of Divine, based on the Richard Curtis’s script.

It will keep the basic premise of a woman becoming a minister in a small town – in this case Divine, Georgia – but in the remake the central character is a former rebel from that town.

Former Frasier producer Suzanne Martin is in charge the pilot made, with Curtis acting as executive producer.

Fox’s Susan Levison told trade journal Variety: ‘Martin did something smart - she set the show in the South to take advantage of a culture that embraces the church and its customs, and she gave the lead character a little more outrageousness.

‘She's a woman with a past who's trying to make amends, and isn't afraid to call things as she sees them. It felt very Fox to us.’

No cast members have yet been announced.

The Dawn French original ran on BBC One for four series, and six years ago it was reported that Frasier stars Jane Leeves and Peri Gilpin had purchased the US remake rights through their production company Bristol Cities. It is not yet known if they are involved in the remake.

Published: 22 Sep 2006