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Chris Hallam celebrates 30 years of The Vicar of Dibley

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How can a situation comedy be funny when the main character is so nice? This, in essence, was Dawn French's initial objection when writer Richard Curtis first presented her with a brief document outlining the basis for what would become The Vicar of Dibley during a flight in 1992. Perhaps she had a point? Whereas Meldrew was grumpy and Mainwaring was pompous, Curtis's new creation, the Rev Geraldine Granger seemed to be, in her own words: "A sweet, kind, wise, nurturing sort, around whom everyone's stories and troubles would swirl. She was to be the fulcrum, the heart of the village."

Richard Curtis was already writing the series with Dawn French very much in mind. But Dawn herself was unsure and put in an early bid to play the smaller part of Alice, the church's young but emptyheaded verger. Curtis briefly considered which other actresses might be up to playing the vicar. Alison Steadman, perhaps? Julie Walters? Miriam Margolyes? Both writer and actress were then in their mid-30s.

Curtis, the writer and cocreator of Blackadder, had been favourably impressed by a female lay preacher who had officiated at a wedding he had attended. Weddings were very much on his mind in 1992 as he struggled to bring his own screenplay about weddings and funerals to the big screen. Dawn French, meanwhile, was already very much a household name as a result of her successful comedy partnership with Jennifer Saunders. Jennifer was striking out on her own, working on Absolutely Fabulous, in which she played another great sitcom monster, the spectacularly childish and self-absorbed Edina Monsoon.

Dawn was also enjoying moderate success starring in a comedy/crime anthology series, Murder Most Horrid. She knew Richard Curtis through his role in setting up the charity Comic Relief with her then husband, Lenny Henry, and was soon won over by Curtis's new idea. The result was first broadcast 30 years ago on BBC One on 10 November 1994.