The Diocese of London was recently called upon to take part in the filming of a new Christmas-themed advert for Amazon.

Starring Father Gary Bradley, Vicar in Charge of the Parish of Little Venice in West London, the advertisement tells the touching story of a Christian Vicar and Muslim Imam (played by the Principal of a Muslim school from Leicester) who are lifelong friends and who in their advancing age, inadvertently decide to buy each other the same Christmas gift (knee-pads to wear under their robes) to make their lives and work a little easier.

Father Bradley, who briefly considered a career in in the theatre before training to be a priest, said of the experience “What attracted me to taking part, in addition to getting to act again, was the message of tolerance and interfaith friendship which the producers were trying to portray. Our parish covers an area of huge diversity and every Christmas we hold a celebration attended by people of all denominations and religions; and the story of the two old friends serving two different religions very much reflects the bonds of friendship which I have formed in real life.”

Filming of the advert took place at St Dunstan’s Church, Stepney and in the vicarage of St Peter’s Church in Bethnal Green. Both these churches are located in the heart of Tower Hamlets, one of the most diverse parts of East London.