Newsreader Fiona Bruce has revealed that it was her co-star Dawn French’s idea to punch her during the Red Nose Day Vicar of Dibley sketch.

The sketch featured the likes of Emma Watson, Maureen Lipman and Ruth Jones competing for the job of bishop.

After Dawn’s alter-ego Geraldine Granger did not get the job, she punched Fiona when she discovered that the newsreader had been made the new Vicar of Dibley.

Dawn French (Ian West/PA)
Dawn French (Ian West/PA)

Fiona told Radio Times magazine: “The punch wasn’t in the script, but when we rehearsed it, Dawn said, ‘Surely at this point I’d be so cross I would punch her.’

“Richard Curtis (who created the comedy) told her to go for it. But every time she did, it made me laugh. I couldn’t keep a straight face.”

Fiona Bruce (Ian West/PA)
Fiona Bruce (Ian West/PA)

The mother of two teenage children said of what she watches with her offspring: “They’re not very keen on my output, that’s for sure.

“If I want to watch things I’m on, I end up watching on my own. What I do is ‘just what mum does’.”