Harley has last word for Peppa
IT’S a voice often resonating around the home of every family with preschoolers - Peppa Pig.
Now the girl who plays the role is 18 and bowing out.
Harley Bird, who used to live in Bamford, has played the main character in the children’s cartoon since she was just five years old and has appeared in 185 episodes of the programme, earning her a BAFTA in 2011.
From the middle of
February she will be replaced by nine-yearold Amelie Bea Smith, who becomes the fourth actress to play the pig, reports our sister paper the Mirror.
Harley, who is currently in her final year of her A-Levels, said she was looking forward to the ‘next chapter’ as she paid tribute to the cast of the show in her statement.
Harley said: “Becoming the voice of Peppa Pig at the age of five was the start of an incredible journey, and I’ll never forget my time on the show.
“The people that work on Peppa Pig have become like a family to me and they’ve given me some unforgettable memories.
“I wish Amelie the best of luck in the role and am looking forward to starting the next chapter in my life.”
Back in 2017 Harley spoke about what it was like to grow up with Peppa, her brother George, Rebecca Rabbit and Suzy Sheep.
In a rare interview with the BBC, the youngster, who appeared in the Observer when she was 10, revealed she couldn’t read when she first started, and instead had to mimic members of the crew.
She said: “I remember going into the studio for the first time and I couldn’t read. At all.
“It’s a little bit difficult when you’ve got a fiveyear-old who’s meant to be reading the scripts, so all the Peppa guys use to speak and tell me how they wanted me to say the lines and I kind of just got used to copying them.
“So as well as doing and amazing job, they were also teaching me how to read kind of as well.”
Peppa Pig co-creators Neville Astley and Mark Baker said that Harley, who now lives with her family in Hertfordshire, had been a huge part of the success of the show.
They said: “As our longest-standing Peppa, Harley’s award-winning contribution to the show over the past 13 years has been tremendous, making her a key part of the success of Peppa Pig. “We’re delighted to welcome Amelie to the Peppa Pig voice cast and confident that she will continue the strong legacy of the previous Peppa voice actors.”