Six years have passed since the final episode aired on television.

But it seems the Great British public have lost none of their affection for The Vicar of Dibley, judging by the reaction to this warm, engaging and faithful stage adaptation of the popular BBC sitcom.

Much of this excellent transition must be credited to script writers Ian Gower and Paul carpenter, who were behind the screen-to-stage transfer of Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer’s original series.

The story encapsulated much of the original show, from the new vicar’s arrival in Dibley, her affection for chocolate, and the ensuing love affair between nice-but-dim couple Hugo Horton and Alice Tinker.

But bringing the script to life was a group of actors that had clearly studied the source material, such was their accurate portrayal of the madcap bunch of Dibley parishioners.

In the title role, which came with an array of suitably flamboyant jumpers, Carolyne Bevan was a charming lead as the character made famous by Dawn French.

As with the TV show, however, much of the fun was provided by the supporting cast. Stern councillor David Horton was played with plenty of stiff upper lip by Brian Baxter, aghast that his son Hugo (Paul Drinkwater) was set to wed barmy Alice (Sophie Palumbo).

The show was at its best, though, when the full cast was assembled during meetings of the Dibley Parish Council, which allowed pedantic Frank Pickle (Robin Piper), dithering Jim Trott (Gary Edgar), eccentric cook Letitia Cropley (Ann Farrer) and sweary farmer Owen Newitt (Guy Peskin) to share the stage. In particular, Gary pulled in a lot of laughs with a perfect depiction of depraved Jim’s ‘no, no, no, no, no, yes’ stutter.

Each of the many scenes provided a belly-laugh or two, all of which culminated in a wedding that had to be seen to be believed. It was a riotous ending to an extremely enjoyable adaptation of a much-loved series.