The series was created by Richard Curtis and written for Dawn French by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey.

The main character of Geraldine Granger was invented by Richard Curtis, who along with Dawn French extensively consulted Joy Carroll, one of the first female Anglican priests, to gather character traits and information.

The series was filmed in the Buckinghamshire village of Turville, near High Wycombe, with the village's St Mary the Virgin Church doubling as Dibley's fictional St Barnabus church.

The exterior location for David Horton's manor is actually in the separate village of Little Missenden, Buckinghamshire, not Turville.

The theme music, a setting of Psalm 23, was composed by Howard Goodall and originally written as a serious piece of church choral music before being used for the sitcom; it was performed by the choir of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.

A snippet of The Vicar of Dibley's theme music was used in the Mr. Bean episode 'Tee Off, Mr. Bean', and conversely, music from Mr. Bean plays during Sean Bean's cameo appearance in the Vicar of Dibley episode 'Spring', both shows having been co-created by Richard Curtis.

In 2007, Fox planned an American adaptation titled The Minister of Divine starring Kirstie Alley as a returning small-town minister; a pilot was broadcast but the series was never picked up.

The series has been adapted into three separate stage plays by different writing teams, covering various plotlines such as Alice and Hugo's wedding, a village nativity play, and a campaign to save Dibley from a reservoir project.