Gladiator Jodie Ounsley to star in Peppa Pig hearing loss storyline
By Carla Feric, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
Gladiator Jodie Ounsley will enter the world of Peppa Pig as she takes on the role of an audiologist in an upcoming storyline about one of the characters’ partial hearing loss.
The animated show tells the story of Peppa, who lives with Daddy Pig, Mummy Pig, her little brother George, and her baby sister Evie – who was born last May.
It has been announced that a new storyline will see George revealed as moderately deaf and fitted with a hearing aid, with Ounsley, known to fans as Fury, taking on the role of his audiologist.
The 25-year-old athlete, who was born deaf and had a cochlear implant as a toddler, told the Press Association she was “so grateful” to be part of the storyline.
Ounsley said that when her character revealed George’s hearing loss, she felt like she was speaking to her parents, and said: “I was so young, so I wasn’t aware of this experience, only through what my mum and dad have told me.
“I don’t think I realised how emotional it felt for them in that moment in time. It was quite bizarre to be in that position.
“But even more so, I think it’s why I put more heart into it, because it felt quite real. Hopefully that comes across in the episode, to the parents and kids watching it.”
Ounsley said her parents told her they had a “negative experience” when it was revealed she was deaf, and said: “When it’s the very start of your kid’s life, you really hang onto words. I think it’s the way you deliver things.
“I think for them it was very much, ‘your daughter has been found as deaf, here’s a leaflet, off you go’.
“They could have said, ‘don’t worry, here are some resources. She still will have a very great life, she’s just going to have challenges’. That would have completely shifted their mindset.”
She told the Press Association she wanted to bring a “positive tone” to her role in the children’s show, and said: “When I was going through the scripts and things like that, I thought, ‘I am speaking to actual parents right now’.”
Ounsley said she was in disbelief when she was first offered the role, and said: “Once we got into the storyline, it just made it even more special to work on, because it was something I’ve really related to in so many aspects of my own life.
“It’s been incredible, and I’m so grateful to be part of it.”
She added: “Last year, had you mentioned this opportunity, I would have never even imagined, or believed, that I could do something like this.”
Peppa Pig first aired in 2004 on Channel 5 Milkshake and Nick Jr, and is now available in more than 180 territories along with being broadcast in over 40 languages.
Co-created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker, from animation studio Astley Baker Davies, the series has inspired theme parks in the UK and elsewhere as well as being featured on collectable Royal Mail stamps.
It was acquired by toy company Hasbro in 2019 as the part of them buying Entertainment One’s brands.
The upcoming storyline, which has been developed in partnership with the National Deaf Children’s Society, will air on Milkshake from March 9th.
