Why new Peppa Pig episodes will mean so much to deaf children

When I was growing up, children’s television didn’t include anyone like me. I gradually lost my hearing from birth and am now profoundly deaf, but in the stories we absorbed at home and at school, deafness simply didn’t exist. My everyday experiences — the missed conversations, the isolation, the constant effort of trying to follow the world — were invisible. 

That’s why a new Peppa Pig episode, in which George Pig gets his first hearing aids, is so moving. It’s a gentle, positive storyline delivered with the warmth that has made the programme so loved. But for deaf children — and for deaf adults like me — as well as their families, it represents something much bigger: recognition. 

For a deaf child watching, it sends a simple but powerful message: someone like me belongs here. For hearing children, it helps build understanding — that difference is normal, and that inclusion matters. 

When George visits the audiologist, the details feel strikingly familiar. The beeps. The tests. Putting objects into boxes as part of the process. I remember those appointments vividly from my own childhood. I also remember keeping my hearing aids in a box and not wearing them when I should have, because I felt ashamed — because they marked me out as “different”. 

It matters who brings this story to life. The audiologist is voiced by Jodie Ounsley, a deaf sports star and Gladiator, whose lived experience brings authenticity and care to the role. The involvement of the National Deaf Children’s Society has helped ensure the storyline is grounded in reality. For many families, this episode will offer a reassuring and age appropriate way to start conversations about deafness with young children. 

Representation really does matter. This is a moment to celebrate. But it should also prompt us to confront something more sobering. 

Across the UK, families of deaf children still struggle to access the early, effective support to develop language and communication that is so vital in the first years of a child’s life. Those early months and years are when children’s brains develop most rapidly. For deaf children, timely support can make the difference between isolation and connection, between frustration and confidence. 

The consequences of getting this wrong are stark. Only 42% of deaf children achieve a “good level of development” at the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage, compared with 68% of all children. Yet when effective support is in place early, outcomes can be transformed — whether families wish to use spoken language, sign language, or both. 

But access to this vital early support – including Auditory Verbal therapy for those families who wish to use spoken language and BSL classes for those families who want to use sign language – remains a postcode lottery across the UK.  Access often depends on where you live or what you can afford. That must change. Every child should have the same chance to develop language, communication and confidence — and the same opportunity to fulfil their potential. 

Every week, I hear from parents who are immensely proud of their deaf child’s character, strengths and resilience — but exhausted by the fight to access the support their child needs to thrive. 

We need the government to act. Every family deserves early and effective support whether they wish to use spoken language, sign language or both. And every deaf child deserves the chance not just to be seen on screen, but to be fully supported in real life. Their futures depend on it. 

You can find out more about George getting his first hearing aid on National Deaf Children's Society’s website.

Anita Grover, CEO of Auditory Verbal UK