A charity boss has praised the ‘heartwarming’ and ‘groundbreaking’ new hearing loss storyline in Peppa Pig.
Developed in partnership with the National Deaf Children’s Society, Peppa’s younger brother, George, is revealed to be moderately deaf and is fitted with a hearing aid in the animated children’s TV show.
The storyline has been created to authentically reflect the experiences of deaf children.
In new episodes airing on Milkshake from March 9, George is helped by an audiologist voiced by Jodie Ounsley, best-known as Fury on the BBC series Gladiators, who was the first deaf female rugby player to represent England.
Discussing the ‘huge impact’ this will have on young children with hearing loss, George Crockford, the chief executive of the NDCS, told Metro: ‘Deaf representation has come a long way, but I think there’s been nothing in the children’s space, so I really, really welcome this.
‘I think there’s a few ways it could have a profound impact, but the biggest one is for children to feel like they’re seen.
‘It will also open up those conversations with other hearing children that seeing a deaf child is not something that’s strange or unique. I think it could have a really huge impact.’
The charity boss also revealed how important it is to show that George is still capable of having fun with his family and doing all the things you would expect him to do, but he also just needs that extra bit of support and adjustment to be fully included at times.
‘Having something that demystifies hearing loss… I think it is really groundbreaking to bring down barriers from such an early age,’ he said.
‘Most deaf children are the only deaf child in their school. So when they start school, having this sort of representation means that when they’re meeting other children for the first time, they’re not having to explain their hearing aid because they’ve seen one before.
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Parents of children with hearing loss can visit https://www.ndcs.org.uk/georgepig to explore useful resources.
‘They’re not having to explain why you need to get their attention. because they’ve seen that all before through the TV show.’
The chief executive concluded by saying that he hopes this becomes a ‘great resource that is accessible to children’, before adding that he personally found the new episodes ‘heartwarming’.
‘There’s some really heartwarming parts of the story in terms of how they’re trying to support him, and it really hit home for me with the emotional journey I’ve been through as a parent,’ he added.
‘Even if it is a cartoon, it really pulled on those heartstrings and made me reflect on my own experience of hearing loss in my family.’
Across these episodes, viewers will see George discover new noises and experience a touching milestone as he says Peppa’s name for the very first time.
Nationally, an estimated 54,000 children are deaf, but there has been little representation in the media.
New research from Hasbro, which owns Peppa Pig, showed that 98% of parents of children with hearing loss believe that deaf representation in children’s TV has a positive impact on them.
From the results, half (53%) also said it helps children develop a stronger sense of self, with 47% saying it normalises deafness and helps them feel less isolated.
Working alongside NDCS, Hasbro also developed the script with Camilla Arnold, a deaf executive producer and script consultant known for her work on See Hear (BBC), Chelsea Detectives (Acorn TV) and Bridgerton (Netflix).
In addition to the new storyline, Hasbro will also support the charity through fundraising initiatives, which provide expert guidance, support and insight to the production process of George’s new character arc.
The new Peppa Pig episodes will air on Milkshake from March 9.
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