Vicar (Episodes 9701/2)

The Vicar conducted the unorthodox funeral of Dane Hibbs in February 2019 after he had died of a drugs overdose. Dane's son Clayton was in Highfield Prison serving a fifteen-year sentence for the murder of Kylie Platt and he was let out in the company of two officers to attend the service.

While giving her address, the vicar told the somewhat disreputable congregation, some of them busy knocking back spirits from a hip flask, that Dane's stepson Macca had given her insight into his true character and then spoke of how his "cheeky chappie, one-of- the-lads" exterior hid a caring and loyal man who loved a pint with his sons or a family celebration where he could sing along to any track by his adored Oasis. One other song supposedly never failed to bring a tear to his eye and she asked the congregation to rise while Robbie Williams' Angels was played to them.

Clayton gave his own tearful eulogy which veered somewhat from the truth when he spoke of Dane being out all hours grafting and providing for his family. The vicar then led the assembly to the graveyard for the burial where Clayton's mother, Shona Ramsey, started to get suspicious of the undertakers with their tattoos, sloppy dress and unprofessional manner. As the vicar read the committal over the grave, Shona noticed a pair of bolt cutters in the pocket of one of the undertakers. Suddenly there was chaos as the officers were attacked and Clayton was cut free of his handcuffs in a pre-organised attempt to spring the lad from jail. He managed to run off but the impostor undertakers and Macca were apprehended by the officers. As the police led them away, Billy Mayhew, accompanying Shona, commented to the vicar that he'd buried a lot of people but he'd never taken a funeral quite like that before.