“Peppa Pig” presents the first same-sex couple in a preschool series
After nearly two decades on the air, Peppa Pig added a same-sex couple to its character roster, a milestone for the first time in the portrayal of the hit animated series for preschoolers. The couple were introduced to Channel 5 (UK) viewers in Tuesday's episode, "Families".
In the episode, Peppa's classmate Penny Polar Bear draws a family portrait and talks about having two moms, saying, “I live with my mom and my other mom. A mom is a doctor and a mom cooks spaghetti. I love spaghetti ".
Inevitably, the episode sparked mixed reactions from adults on social media. Many support the move, such as the UK's Safe Schools Alliance who tweeted: "Really nice to see the age-appropriate depiction of same-sex couples on @peppapig featuring Penny and her two mummies."
While some expressed outrage and concern that portrayal of LGBTQ + characters would have a negative effect on children or "confuse them," supporters were quick to defend themselves from the show. Author and reporter Will Black pointed out this morning: “People who accept a family of anthropomorphic pigs in clothes, with a dad wearing [glasses], who have an elephant dentist, a pony optician and a zebra postman. , they are losing their ass * on a same-sex couple in Peppa Pig .
The introduction of polar bears may have been inspired by a petition launched in 2019, which stressed that the BAFTA-winning show had yet to incorporate a same-sex parenting family despite running for six seasons. The Care2 petition attracted over 20.000 supporters.
Created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, Peppa Pig it first aired in 2004 on Channel 5 and Nick Jr., and has since been translated into over 40 languages and broadcast in more than 180 territories. The series follows Peppa Pig, a cheeky pig who lives with her younger brother George, Mama Pig and Papa Pig. Peppa's favorite things include playing, dressing up, going out and jumping in mud puddles.
Entertainment One (eOne), Hasbro's global content studio, is handling the rights to the series and has announced that the new episodes will continue production in 2027, with animation being handled by UK studio Karrot Entertainment.
