Dawn French reprises Vicar of Dibley role for beloved friend's 'living funeral'
Dawn French reprised her iconic Vicar of Dibley character for her beloved friend's 'living funeral'.
The comedian and actress, 65, donned the full cassock and clerical collar as she returned to her role as Geraldine Granger to lead the ceremony.
She delivered an eulogy to her friend Kris Hallenga, 37, who is living with stage four breast cancer.
The living funeral was organised so the CoppaFeel! founder could be "drunk on love and gratitude" for the people who surround her and celebrate her life with her loved ones.
Dawn shared pictures from the day, as she took to the lectern in church.
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"It was my privilege & joy to Dibley it up at her FUNeral on Sat. She wanted to host the best possible party. She did. It was phenomenal," the actress said.
Dawn gave a touching eulogy to her friend Kris (DawnFrench/Instagram)
She even got to 'Dibley it up' as she turned into her character Geraldine Granger (DawnFrench/Instagram)"So much love filling @trurocathedral. It was her own festival celebrating an extraordinary life. What a total babe."
Kris praised her friend for her speech, saying it "blew my heart into smithereens" along with the "loving/ funny/ embarrassing speeches".
The Cornwall campaigner was first diagnosed with incurable secondary breast cancer back in 2009, aged 23.
Kris was given a lift expectancy of just two years.
She made the decision to face the illness head on and almost 15 years later, Kris and her twin sister Maren have made groundbreaking change through their charity.
CoppaFeel! has created breast checking tools, projected onto the Houses of Parliament, and showed the first nipple on a billboard.
Explaining her living funeral decision, Kris said: "I want to be present at the event where my people have a thing or two to say about me, where I have the opportunity to show how much they mean to me."
Kris hosted a living funeral with her friends and family (DawnFrench/Instagram)
Dawn's Vicar of Dibley character made a comeback (BBC)After the event, she added: "I am still processing all the feelings, the wonder, the ridiculousness, the MAGNITUDE of Saturday (and my adrenaline hasn’t calmed the f down yet) but suffice to say it was THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE.
"If you’re a little behind, in January I decided I wanted to organise my own living funeral, my FUNeral, and in doing so celebrate a life that I have truly loved, surrounded by people I loved.
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"It was during a psylocibin (magic [mushroom emoji]) journey later in January that my very wild and wonderful ideas were concocted and in March I started to organise the event of my life."
Kris continued: "I’ve never felt love like it. I’ve never felt joy like it. I’ve never felt such kinship with mortality. I’ve never felt so alive."
If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Breast Cancer Support.
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