Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Celebrity vicars/priests always banging on about the church and god

58 replies

likelysuspect · 07/03/2026 17:47

I know what you're going to say, its their job and they're religious

But in comparison to everyone else on the panel shows or talk shows that they're on with, the others dont shoehorn in to every single sentence that they're an actor or a singer or they eat cheese or they like skydiving or whatever their 'thing' might be or hobby or job

Particularly guilty of this is that Kate Bottley, shes on a quiz show thing at the moment but Ive noticed it of her in several different scenarios and TV and radio appearances - she constantly mentions the church, the sermon, her services, god this, god that.

In comparison I dont hear a jot of her colleagues on the panel show going on every second sentence about their radio show or acting assignment or this or that theatre or this or that tour or performance. She manages to shoehorn it in all the time. I think Richard Coles is a bit similar, sorry cant think of other celeb vicars but Im sure there are others.

Its totally different if she is presenting a religious show like the thought for the day or Songs of Praise which I think she does, but when she is on an innocuous show which is nothing to do with her job as such.

OP posts:
UnilateralDecisions · 07/03/2026 17:56

The last time I saw RC on something, I actually thought he didn’t do this.

likelysuspect · 07/03/2026 17:55

RufusLumleyImStandingNsoul · 07/03/2026 17:50

If they're part of the God squad it's probably in the job description spread the word etc.

I wondered this because Christianity is evangelical isnt it?

Yesterday there was a mundane question about the 13th century and whether parishoners had thought that something or other (cant remember, might have been the plague) was come down on them because they were holding a Sunday market. She had to shoehorn in that she would be in for it if the Bishop (or whoever, sorry if I have the title wrong) had caught her allowing a market on the Sunday or something along those lines, might have got some of the detail wrong. Not only making the whole thing about her but also about god again.

Today she has just mentioned something again and it triggered me to write this thread but Ive literallyl just forgotten it!! lol. Nothing better to do on a Saturday afternoon!

OP posts:
Screamingabdabz · 07/03/2026 17:55

FierceForester90 · 07/03/2026 17:52

Kate Bottley openly admits to being a 'celebrity vicar' - I don't agree with it. She also comes across as quite unpleasant in general.

I’ve met her and she’s lovely. A show off for sure (she admits it) but actually a really nice down to earth gal.

And yes, of course they’re going to bring God and the church into everything - that’s basically the usp of their identity and what they’ve been hired for. (Not to mention their living faith). It would be odd if they didn’t mention it.

SwedishEdith · 07/03/2026 17:52

I guess they see it as part of their whole identity and not just a job. I just tune out whenever anyone talks about god now.

FierceForester90 · 07/03/2026 17:52

Kate Bottley openly admits to being a 'celebrity vicar' - I don't agree with it. She also comes across as quite unpleasant in general.

RufusLumleyImStandingNsoul · 07/03/2026 17:50

If they're part of the God squad it's probably in the job description spread the word etc.

UnilateralDecisions · 07/03/2026 17:50

They must be a relatively small group surely. I could only think of RC, and I quite like him.

I don’t know really. Isn’t their appeal that they’re different to the usual folk on these things? All we ever usually hear about are actors / singers / comedians etc.

UniquePinkSwan · 07/03/2026 17:49

Agree. I have no time at all for religious people especially when they bang on about it. Keep your delusions to yourself