Changes

We may recognise the TV plots but this isn't a wholesale reproduction of the scripts. There are some wonderfully observed added nuances and back stories that augment the programmes. In fact they make more sense of the visuals. For instance it hadn't dawned on me till the book mentioned it that the wonderfully arch Robert's hair is like an arrow pointing accusingly at whomever he's talking to or that the key to Colin is that he's a man-child. We also see more of the depth of Adam's love for Alex as well as Alex's authentic struggles with the expectations heaped on her because of Adam's vocation. (I believe I may even have whooped 'Right on Sister!' at one point.)

Perhaps some of the moments are heightened more for laughs, but the writers have fingers on ecclesiastical pulses when it comes to the job, the pressures and, indeed, the rewards. In this way, this is a book that confirms Adam Smallbone as one of the C-of-E's best media ambassadors, even for atheists if ''The New Statesman'' is correct. The Rev may be fictional, but he's also Everyvicar, in thought, temptation and, in some cases, deed.