It’s fair to say that anyone who has become a parent over the last decade or so will have resigned themselves to the cult that is Peppa Pig. It is an intrinsic part of parenthood when you have pre-school aged kids and the more children you have, the longer it goes on.
The pink, pint-sized Peppa, along with Mummy and Daddy Pig, plus little brother George, are responsible for many things. Encouraging our kids to jump in muddy puzzles for one thing, roar ‘Dinosaur’ at random intervals, and perpetuating certain stereotypes; the rotund, hapless Daddy, the bossy big sister, and the ever capable and self-sacrificing Mummy.
And now, there’s every chance Peppa might even have caused Prime Minister Boris Johnson to fluff an important speech to the CBI after paying a visit to Peppa Pig World with his one year old son, Wilf, at the weekend, and then rambling on about it when he seemed to lose his presentation notes.
In a toe curling speech, Johnson described the theme park as “his kind of place” and said the real lesson he’d learned there was “the power of creativity.”
“I was a bit hazy about what I would find at Peppa Pig World, but I loved it,” said the PM to a presumably baffled audience of conference delegates. “It is very much my kind of place – it had very safe streets, discipline in schools, heavy emphasis on new mass-transit systems, I noticed. Even if they are a bit stereotypical about Daddy Pig.
“But the real lesson for me about going to Peppa Pig World – I’m surprised you haven’t been there – was about the power of UK creativity. Who would have believed that a pig that looks like a hairdryer or possibly, well a sort-of Picasso-like hairdryer, a pig that was rejected by the BBC would now be exported to 180 countries, with theme parks both in America and in China, as well as in the New Forest. And a business that is worth at least £6bn to this country – £6bn and counting. Now, I think that it is pure genius, don’t you?”
The subsequent pictures of Boris seen having fun on Grampy Rabbit's Sailing Club boat ride have cemented Peppa Pig’s status as the most talked about cartoon in the world (for this week at least). And no doubt boosted ticket sales at the New Forest theme park, which apparently blasts out the annoyingly catchy theme tune and the sound of Peppa snorting on a continuous loop.
The British cartoon, which is aimed at pre-school children, was first aired in 2004 and the eponymous Peppa has been voiced by several actresses over the years, including Lily Snowden-Fine and Morwenna Banks. My three children, who are now 12, 9 and 7, were all obsessed with it before they could even walk or talk, and it’s only in the last two years that we have begun to live a Peppa Pig free life. But thanks to Boris, it’s all come flooding back to me like a series of childbirth flashbacks.
But despite this it seems Boris may have been onto something when he praised Peppa. A Peppa Pig Theme Park is due to open in the Legoland Florida Resort in February 2022 and an entire Peppa-Pig themed resort containing a theme park, hotel and aquarium are currently being constructed in Sichuan, China, due to open in 2024.
So there is really no avoiding it. But do try and skip over the episodes where they jump in muddy puddles if you can. Trust me, it will save you a load of laundry.