S5 E2 - The Miracle of Peckham

Rodney - Last night he was talking about God... this morning he’s gone to church... this afternoon he’s seen a miracle. Can only mean one thing... 

Albert - He’s caught religion! 

Rodney - No, he’s pulling a stroke ain’t he? Think about it: there’s Cardinals and Archbishops - they’ve been in the business all their lives, they never got the sniff of a miracle! Then along comes Del, he’s in the game 5 minutes and already he’s a prophet! Yeah, profit being the operative word!

Rodney and Del have had a great week, and been out celebrate - Rodney a little too hard apparently and stole Biffo’s trumpet - a storyline which come round to bite him later in the episode when his guard is down. Albert’s revenge of throwing the trumpet down the chute leads us to some fun between him and Rodney as he very much feels part of the family now.

The central plot revolves around Del’s sudden desire to go to church. We’ve not seen Del interact with the church much except Grandad’s funeral, but Grandad had mentioned in ‘The Second Time Around’ that Del was once a strong believer in God (until Pauline turned up the first time). Del arrives into the church and isn’t familiar with what to say or do. He shouts “shop!” as he arrives. He’s got a weight on his mind and would like to be forgiven. This in itself is odd, and the priest knows it as he points out in the confessional.

Del - I have come to confess my sins.

Priest - Oh Del, please, I’ve been invited out to dinner this evening!

Del agrees to pay into the St Mary’s Hospice Fund - and discovers that the hospice is due to be demolished, and recalls both his Mum and Grandad were cared for there. The church has a long way to go to reach its £250,000 target, still requiring £185,000. Meanwhile, Rodney and Albert speculate what could’ve caused such an urge to visit church. Albert notes that he’s seen people catch religion in the past very suddenly. Rodney confirms that his Cliff Richard cassette has gone missing too.

The priest then discovers that the statue of Mary in the church appears to be crying and declares it a miracle. Del, not missing a trick manages to turn this into a money making and hospice saving event by inviting the world’s press. He’s even interviewed by American news as the supposed prophet. As the Australians arrive they reach their fundraising goal - the fact that Del sees none of this money shows that his heart is in the right place, it might also be due to the fact that he still feels guilty too.

The priest has his own epiphany just as the press have left the church.

Priest - Every time he’s prophesied a miracle it’s been pouring with rain!

He then drags Del and Rodney up to the roof to reveal the lead has been stolen and joins the dots of who did it and who has it. Del is utterly remorseful and the priest seems livid, but when he asks if Del willingly deceived the world’s press just to save the hospice, he ultimately forgives him. Del shows his ability to be flexible and be opportunistic at exactly the right moments once again.

Series 5 has such variety to it, there’s seldom 3 episodes in a row which I keep returning to, but this and the following 2 are definitely up there for me.

Tomorrow’s episode: The Longest Night