Peppa Pig introduces lesbian couple

'Peppa Pig' has introduced the show's first same-sex couple.

The pre-school cartoon show - which has been on air since 2004 and focuses on a family of anthropomorphic pigs as well as the other animals in their town - has now featured a polar bear named Penny who has two mothers.

In the episode aired on Tuesday (06.09.22), Penny said: "I’m Penny Polar Bear. I live with my mummy and my other mummy. One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti. I love spaghetti."

Following the episode, Robbie de Santos from gay charity Stonewall was quick to heap praise on the producers of the Channel 5 cartoon, noting that some parents and children alike will appreciate being "represented" on such an "iconic" programme.

He told The Sun: "It's fantastic that same-sex families are making an appearance in Peppatown. Many of those who watch the show will have two mums or two dads themselves and it will mean a lot that their experiences are being represented on such an iconic children's programme."

News of the new characters comes after a petition was launched which called for a same-sex couple to be introduced and has so far gained 23,892 out of a target of 25,000 signatures.

A description on thepentionsite.com read: " despite there being six series and over 250 episodes produced so far, none of the families feature same-sex parents.

"Children watching Peppa Pig are at an impressionable age, and excluding same-sex families will teach them that only families with either a single parent or two parents of different sexes are normal. This means that children of same-sex parents may feel alienated by Peppa Pig, and that other children may be more likely to bully them, simply through ignorance."