'I'm buzzing to be part of Peppa Pig hearing loss story'

A star of TV's Gladiators and former England rugby union international says she is "absolutely buzzing" to join the cast of Peppa Pig as part of its upcoming hearing loss storyline.

Known to millions as Fury, former Exeter Chiefs player Jodie Ounsley, from Dewsbury, in West Yorkshire, will be the voice of an animated audiologist who provides Peppa's little brother, George, with a hearing aid due to partial hearing loss.

Ounsley was one of the youngest people in the UK to be fitted with a cochlear implant, undergoing surgery when she was just 14 months old.

"I can't help but think of all those little kids out there who will be able to relate to the storyline," she said. "I'm absolutely buzzing."

For more than 20 years, the animated show has told the story of Peppa, who lives with Daddy Pig, Mummy Pig, George, and baby sister Evie.

Ounsley, who was the first deaf female rugby player to represent England, said: "It's such a special thing to be part of, it's something so close to my heart."

She said she sometimes felt "lonely" growing up as she was "probably" the only deaf person in her school, adding: "I definitely felt different."

"I can just imagine if I had something like that when I was younger and seen it on TV and just normalising it I think that would have had a huge impact on me."

According to BBC Newsround, the storyline about George's hearing loss has been developed in partnership with the National Deaf Children's Society and is due to be screened on 9 March.

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