Peppa Pig, one of the most famous children's series around the world, has added a same-sex couple to its cast of characters. This marks the first time in the show's 18-year history that a family whose parents are LGBTQ+ has appeared.

In an episode titled Families , a character named Penny announces that her guardians are two lesbian polar bears. "I live with my mom and my other mom. One mom is a doctor and the other mom cooks spaghetti,” she explains, before viewers are shown the trio sitting down for a family meal.

The decision came after years of campaigning for the program to feature a more diverse selection of families. A petition to convince the show's creators to include a same-sex family was started two years ago and gathered nearly 24,000 signatures.

Peppa Pig has previously been criticized for focusing too much on the traditional family. However, the portrayal of Penny the Polar Bear's family seems to have been better received. Robbie de Santos, director of communications and external affairs at LGBT rights and charity Stonewall, told the BBC that he found the introduction of a same-sex couple "fantastic".