CNN
—
When it comes to entertainment news, it doesn’t get much bigger than this – at least if you’re a preschooler. Oink.
Peppa Pig, loved by under-5s the world over, is about to become a big sister again. She and her little brother, George, will soon have a baby sibling to play with, their mother announced on British national TV.
The big reveal came in an exclusive, if somewhat unusual, interview Thursday on ITV’s daytime show “Good Morning Britain,” in which host Richard Arnold introduced Mummy Pig as the “matriarch of an entertainment dynasty” that has “been a favorite of kids and parents alike for the last 21 years.”
Speaking live from “Peppatown,” Mummy Pig – voiced by British actress and comedian Morwenna Banks – was attempting to share her news when she was interrupted by Peppa, who burst into the room after seeing her on TV. Once the blushing piglet realized she herself was on TV, she exited swiftly, and Mummy Pig was able to tell viewers: “I’m excited to share that our family is getting even bigger because we’re having another baby!”
With a distinct baby bump now in shot, the porcine super-mom went on to say that she was “thrilled” but also “a little overwhelmed at the thought of having three children under 5 running around.”
Viewers also saw her waving a blurry black-and-white scan photo, as she revealed that the new addition is due this summer.
Peppa and George are understandably excited. “Every day they ask me how big the baby is, when is it coming, does it like dinosaurs and muddy puddles – it never stops,” a laughing Mummy Pig said.
The animated series first aired in 2004 on Britain’s Channel 5 and premiered in the United States the following year. While, in real time, Mummy Pig might now be considered a little old to be pregnant again, like all popular cartoon characters, she is frozen in time.
The show is today a global phenomenon, broadcast in 180 countries and dubbed in more than 40 languages. It has spawned endless merchandise and even its own theme park, Peppa Pig World in Hampshire, England.