THE role of religion in one of the UK's most wealthy areas is the subject of a fly-on-the-wall documentary.

Filmed in Prestbury last year Village People is a series of six programmes following Canon David Ashworth, minister at the village's 800-year-old St Peter's Church and his parishioners.

The first episode told how while Mr Ashworth is surrounded by millionaires he can't afford the upkeep of his vicarage.

Viewers saw Mr Ashworth and his wife Sheenagh battling to win planning permission for a new vicarage because of the problems of maintaining their £1m eight-bedroom church property.

The Macclesfield Express reported on the problems Mr Ashworth had when planning permission was refused for a new vicarage.

Residents are also seen gossiping about rumours that Posh and Becks could be moving into the village.

A spokesman for Granada, which produced the series, said: "We chose Prestbury because we were interested in the concept of the role of the Church in such an affluent area.

"It's a gentle docu-soap about the village. One of the themes picked up in the first episode which runs throughout is the paradox with the financial problems the church has."

Prestbury is described as 'no ordinary village' and viewers are told "More than 10 per cent of its population in this picturesque corner of Cheshire are millionaires - more than 300 in total. The houses here are big and beautiful - many owned by tycoons, football stars and television celebrities.

"And sales of champagne at the high street off-licence are in the top five across the country."

But less than ten per cent of villagers currently attend church services.

Mr Ashworth said: "An awful lot of people I've met while I've been in the ministry have a real faith without ever feeling the need to come to church.

"This is true of the people of Prestbury, who you could describe as generally pretty comfortably off - and people who've got relatively very little.

"I'm not sure that I would want to make a distinction between the two or say that the comfortable are necessarily more drawn away from religion. Although, our Lord Jesus said that it's hard for the rich to enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

Millionaire businessman Paul Davidson tells the programme: "I don't need to go to church to prove that I'm a Christian. But if it started to fall down, I would be the first person to put my hand in my pocket and donate some money to them."

The Granada spokesman said: "The series also shows the relationship between an Anglican church in Salford and St Peter's. They have regular collections and jumble sales for them."

The fourth episode of the series goes out on Sunday, January 26, at 11am on ITV1 and features one of the villagers undergoing tests for cancer, the winners of the wedding of the year competition are announced and some of the parishioners take to the hills on their annual pub crawl.

Other episodes include a family talking about the devastating effect of a mother being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, a parishioner bringing practical help to St Paul's Church in Salford, and the lambing season for local farmers.

In the final episode of the series, the parish comes together to celebrate the Rose Queen festival.

The curate, Sue Hawkins, is looking for a new job but it means leaving her home of 20 years, and the big day has arrived for the winners of the Cheshire Life wedding of the year, Nick Underwood and Angela Lewis.