Peppa Pig will introduce the show’s first lesbian couple this week following petitions for the show to include LGBTQ+ characters.

In the ground-breaking episode set to air on Channel 5 later this week, Penny Polar Bear will introduce her two mummies on the kid’s show.

Penny says: "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.”

It follows petitions which have long called for the show to introduce a queer family including one which 17,000 people have signed.

One person to sign the petition said:  “Hey Duggee has got a same-sex couple but still no family – these families would be delighted to see positive portrayals of even one same-sex family on preschool tv – especially when these families provide valid loving and safe homes for children to grow and develop into well-rounded adults (that has been proven in a variety of studies).”

The petition was started by Beth G and Lacey K, explaining their reason for starting the petition they said: “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. Peppa Pig is not just for entertainment, children are inevitably learning from it too.”