Latest news with #SarahHenderson
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Ruthlessly personal': Karl Stefanovic's fiery interview with Sussan Ley after WFH architect dumped from frontbench
Liberal leader Sussan Ley's decision to dump work from home policy architect Jane Hume from shadow cabinet has been savaged as 'ruthlessly personal' in a fiery interview. The big shock of the shake up was that high profile Senator Jane Hume and Liberal MP Sarah Henderson were dumped from the frontbench. Today show host Karl Stefanovic confronted Ms Ley on Nine's breakfast program over the changes on Thursday morning with a series of brutal questions. 'I am not saying this is a bad thing, but you are ruthlessly personal,'' Today show host Karl Stefanovic said. 'That's not my view, Karl,'' Ms Ley replied. 'We have a fantastic team. I spoke to every one of the 54 in the line up about the role that we all need to play, because our job is to take the fight up to labor to be the strongest possible Opposition on behalf of the Australian people.' Stefanovic then asked, 'So, you don't like Jane Hume, but it's not personal?.' 'Jane is a fantastic colleague and contributor and will remain in exactly the role she has as senator for Victoria,'' Ms Ley said. 'And whether you're in the frontbench line up or the backbench, and these terms mean different things to different people. But I always say that no matter where you sit in the House of Representatives or the Senate, you have an enormous opportunity and a tremendous privilege. 'What we have to do is get out there and fight this fight hard. 'Because even if you did support Anthony Albanese at the last election, you do need to see a strong Opposition.' 'They said Peter Dutton had a problem with female voters, but now you've deliberately reduced the number of women in the Shadow Cabinet?,'' Stefanovic then asked. Ms Ley replied that 40% of her shadow ministry are women when you include the outer ministry. Speaking in Canberra on Wednesday, Ms Ley denied that the decision to dump Senator Hume was a 'get square' for the moderate MP backing Angus Taylor. 'Absolutely not. I'm not going to reflect on the qualities of individuals with respect to the qualities of other individuals. I don't think that's a fair question,'' Ms Ley said. 'Opposition is not about hierarchies. It's not about structure. It's about getting every player on the field, fighting the fight, because this is not about the internals you've spoken of. This is about how we go out there to work hard for the Australian people.' As expected, the high profile Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been relegated to the outer ministry and will not sit in the shadow cabinet but she has secured a role in the defence industry portfolio. If Senator Price had stayed with the Nationals, she would likely have been expected to secure the role of deputy and a frontbench role. In relation to Senator Price, Ms Ley said she had spoken to her about the new appointment. 'She's excited to take it up. There is no more important area than safety, national security and defence and you will see a great profiling of defence under Angus Taylor as we go forward in this term,'' she said, Senator Price, who had originally left the Nationals and defected to the Liberal Party to support and run for deputy leader, takes on the defence portfolio. Senate leader Michaelia Cash will take on the prized foreign affairs role, going head to head against Senator Penny Wong in the Senate. Deputy Liberal leader Ted O'Brien will take on the role of treasury spokesman while leadership aspirant Angus Taylor has been shifted from Shadow Treasurer to Defence. James Paterson has been promoted to the Coalition spokesman for finance, government services, and the public service. Future leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie, who had asked to move from defence into an economics or social services role, has been promoted to the spokesman for home affairs. Former Nationals leaders Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack have been hit with demotions from the frontbench. Ley lashed over decision to dump four women As the dust settles from the shake-up, Liberals have pointed out there are now fewer women in the shadow cabinet than under Peter Dutton. That's because Ms Ley has dumped Victorians Jane Hume and Sarah Henderson from the frontbench and Tasmanian Claire Chandler and demoted Senator Jacinta Price. There are now eight women in a 27-strong shadow cabinet - an enormous frontbench given the dwindling size of the opposition ranks in Parliament. By comparison, there were 11 women in Mr Dutton's 23-strong shadow cabinet prior to the election of Sussan Ley although a large number of new faces have been promoted to the outer ministry. 'I feel for Jane Hume, she's just collateral damage,'' a Liberal MP and supporter of Angus Taylor in the leadership ballot said. But Senator Hume's position is particularly curious, because while Mr Taylor's group believes she voted for him in the secret ballot, Ms Ley's supporters insist the moderate voted for her. A similar mystery has emerged over exactly who Senator Hume has voted for in previous ballots leading to questions over her factional allegiances. A regular on Channel 7's Sunrise, she angered colleagues during the election over her claim 'Chinese spies' were working at voting booths for the ALP along with the work from home debacle. She also emerged in 2022 and in 2025 as a potential candidate for the deputy leadership. 'We think Jane did vote for Sussan. It's not a punishment,'' a supporter of Ms Ley said. But other MPs claim that there was a falling out between the two women, amid claims Senator Hume had accused Ms Ley's faction of backgrounding against her. Former leaders dumped from frontbench Speaking on Sky News, Mr McCormack confirmed he wasn't part of the new team and hinted he would have more to say about the big issues including net zero. 'So Barnaby and I are no longer in the shadow ministry, but that's okay,'' Mr McCormack said. 'That is the leader's prerogative. He gets to make that call. ' Asked if he was being punished for being critical of the 'shemozzle' that had unfolded in the Nationals, Mr McCormack didn't deny it. 'You would have to ask David Littleproud,'' he said. 'That is very much a question for him. But I spoke up and spoke out for what I felt was a decision that was taken in haste, a decision that we didn't need to make last week, a decision that we could have spent much more time on if we didn't need to make. 'I felt the break away from the Liberal looked messy, and from the public's point of view, they must have just been scratching their heads and wondering what on earth was going on.' Fallout continues with David Littleproud under pressure Despite the peace deal, Mr Littleproud remains under pressure from his own MPs amid swirling speculation he could be replaced as leader. Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack told that he wouldn't rule out a return to the leadership if he was drafted. Nationals MP Colin Boyce has now claimed that 'unfounded and wrong' information about the nature of the original negotiations with the Liberals that was provided by Mr Littleproud means' he can't support him. 'How can you support a bloke that misleads the partyroom? I'm calling him out,' Mr Boyce told Sky News. 'I can't do it. You take these four policies that David took to the first meeting with Sussan Ley, again, none of that has come through the partyroom. It wasn't discussed.' 'The proposal to abandon the Coalition agreement was all based on advice given by National Party leadership. I think that advice was unfounded and wrong,' he said. 'If we are going to go into Coalition with the Liberal Party, cabinet solidarity is one of the most important things of having that Coalition.
ABC News
4 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Henderson says 'high-performing Liberal women' were overlooked for shadow cabinet
Liberal senator Sarah Henderson said she is disappointed that "a number of high-performing" women were overlooked or demoted in the opposition's new ministry, weeks after Sussan Ley became the first woman to lead the Liberal Party. Senator Henderson, who was the shadow education minister under Peter Dutton, was left out of Ms Ley's frontbench reveal on Wednesday, as was Jane Hume, a high-profile senator who was relegated from the finance portfolio to the backbench. Claire Chandler, previously in government services, was also left off the list, while Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was moved out of cabinet and to the outer shadow ministry in the defence industry portfolio. Senator Henderson said she was "disappointed" to be removed from shadow cabinet, adding: "I regret that a number of high-performing Liberal women have been overlooked or demoted in the new ministry." "Today, I am more determined than ever to fight for Australian women, which must start with a comprehensive policy platform." Senator Price, speaking to Sky News on Wednesday night, said she too was "disappointed" to be left out of cabinet, after she made the shock move from the Nationals to the Liberal party room for a tilt at the party's deputy leadership. "There are probably some appointments that have not been predicated on experience or merit, but this is the team we have to work with going forward," she said. "I'm not going to lie and say I'm not disappointed that I'm not within cabinet itself. "But I did say when I decided to move to the Liberal party room that as part of the Coalition we needed to build and that I would be taking whatever position I am in very seriously." At a media conference on Wednesday, Ms Ley dismissed the notion that conservative women had been targeted in the reshuffle. "This is a new parliament with new people being elected and a new agenda moving forward," she said. "I am thrilled that I have so many terrific colleagues. And those that, as I said earlier, are not on this list are certainly incredibly valued and will continue to play that very, very important role that all of us must in opposition." Meanwhile, other women who were part of Mr Dutton's shadow ministry found themselves promoted to more senior positions under Ms Ley. They include Kerrynne Liddle, who will move into the social services portfolio, Melissa McIntosh, now tasked with communications, and Michaelia Cash, who takes on foreign affairs. Several women were also promoted into assistant roles, including Melissa Price in science, Zoe McKenzie in education and mental health, Leah Blyth in families, and Maria Kovacic in family violence prevention. Gisele Kapterian will hold an assistant role in the communications portfolio if she is elected to the seat of Bradfield. Under Mr Dutton, who was ousted from parliament at the recent election, women made up half of cabinet positions. That has dropped to about a third in the new arrangement — which is in line with the percentage of women in the broader Coalition party room — with eight of the 23 cabinet positions going to women. Asked specifically about the removal of Ms Hume from the ministry, Ms Ley said reshuffles were always "tough days". "I recognise that, but what I do want to say about Jane Hume is she is an enormously talented, fantastic member of this team who has contributed amazingly over her political career, will continue to do so, and is a strong performer across a range of different subject areas." Shortly after becoming the first woman to lead the Liberal Party in its 81-year history, Ms Ley declared that "we need more women in our party" and vowed to look at ways to make it a reality. A record-breaking number of women were elected to Australia's parliament at this month's federal election, with the majority coming from Labor's ranks in the House of Representatives.
Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
‘Not been predicated on experience': Jacinta Nampijinpa Price fumes at Ley's new look frontbench, whilst Hogan remains tight-lipped on Joyce axing
Ex shadow minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has criticised the composition of the Coalition's new frontbench, stating 'it would have been good to have some really good fighters in there", while Nationals deputy Kevin Hogan refused to elaborate on Barnaby Joyce's cabinet axing Sussan Ley, flanked by Nationals leader David Littleproud unveiled the long-anticipated shadow ministry on Wednesday after striking a new Coalition agreement, with the two parties tentatively agreeing to settle their disagreements and reunite after the week-long split delayed the announcement. The revised shadow cabinet has seen multiple new faces elevated and a myriad of senior party figures banished to the backbench. Jane Hume, the architect of the Coalition's tumultuous work-from-home policy and Victorian Senator Sarah Henderson were removed from the frontbench completely, while Senator Price, who recently abandoned the Nationals for the Liberals was demoted from the Indigenous Australians portfolio to defence industry. The two party leaders rewarded their supporters with key spots in the new Coalition frontbench, with deputy leader Ted O'Brien taking Angus Taylor's position as shadow treasurer, with Mr Taylor shifted to defence. Moderate Liberals Andrew Bragg, Dave Sharma and newly elected MP for Goldstein Tim Wilson are entering the economic team, while Julian Leeser will return as attorney-general after forfeiting the role in 2023 to campaign for the Voice to Parliament. Ms Price, who likely would have maintained her spot in the shadow cabinet had she not abandoned the National Party said that numerous colleagues were dissatisfied with the make-up of the shadow cabinet, and that many of the recipients lacked sufficient 'merit'. 'I have no doubt that there are some of my colleagues who are feeling upset about the decisions that have been made,' she said speaking to Sky News host Peta Credlin. 'I'll be honest to say that there are some appointments that have not been predicated on experience or merit, but this is the team we have to work with going forward." The Northern Territory Senator, who was offered the chance to contest a lower house seat by the Liberal Party during the last parliamentary term further revealed 'it would have been good to have some really good fighters in there' and stated she was disappointed she had been booted from the inner ministry. "I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not disappointed that I am not within cabinet itself but I did say when I decided to move to the Liberal Party room that as part of the Coalition we needed to rebuild and that I would be taking whatever position I'm in very seriously'. 'I think it's no secret I backed in Sarah Henderson. I thought she did a remarkable job in the education portfolio and did a great deal of work that she didn't get the opportunity to further and particularly during the election as well,' Ms Price said. Senator Price defected to the Liberal Party to join then shadow treasurer Mr Taylor's leadership bid and was expected to nominate herself for the deputy leader position, however redacted her candidacy after Ms Ley secured the top spot. 'I absolutely don't regret my move. I think I made it clear that this is something that I'd wanted to do when I was very first elected before my previous term'. 'I have the opportunity to work closely with Angus Taylor and of course, Phil Thompson, who I think are great for these particular positions as well,' Ms Price said, referring to her fellow defense colleagues. Meanwhile, Nationals deputy leader Kevin Hogan resoundingly backed in Mr Littleproud's comments that the cabinet reshuffle represented a 'generational change' and refused to elaborate on the rationale behind relegating former party leaders Michael McCormack and Barnaby Joyce from shadow cabinet. 'I'm not going to go into that. I mean that's David's decision and he has his reasons for that,' Mr Hogan said. 'We're a pretty small team, the Nats, and we're close colleagues and I regard both of them as friends and look, they have made amazing contributions in their parliamentary careers.' Mr Joyce outspokenly slammed Mr Littleproud's decision to exit the Coalition and labelled the generational change comment as 'ridiculous', citing that some of the people promoted to replace him were in fact older than him. 'The two people that are replacing Michael and Barnaby are quite, you know, a lot newer entrants to parliament and so that was the reason that David said that so look they're going to be exciting people," Mr Hogan stated.
ABC News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Decimated and divided Liberal Party insiders at odds over what went wrong and what they stand for
The Liberal Party room is deeply divided over its future direction, with a profound schism emerging between those who want the party to move to the "sensible centre" as articulated by new leader Sussan Ley, and others who believe moderates are hijacking the devastating election loss to suit their agenda. Four Corners has spoken to senior frontbenchers and key Liberal figures who believe the campaign was botched by campaign headquarters, with one frontbencher calling for heads to roll over the stuff ups. Rising conservative star Andrew Hastie, widely seen as a future leader of the party, has warned the Liberal Party's problems are so deep that without serious change, it may cease to exist. Several frontbenchers have revealed their policies were either dumped or buried, in what all describe as a confused and incoherent campaign. Mr Hastie told Four Corners he pushed to have his defence policy announced with details of where the new money being committed would be spent. "I just assumed that we were going to announce it in the first week or two and then it blew out to the week of Anzac Day," he said. He was left frustrated that a key Coalition strength was being squandered. "It became very difficult to talk about defence during the campaign without a policy," he said. Shadow minister Sarah Henderson said her education policy was "buried" by the campaign because it was obsessed with talking about the cost of living and steered away from values-based policies. "On Thursday night [before the election], the policy was uploaded onto the website … my media release was withdrawn and a lot of incredible hard work by my team and many others right across the Coalition, unfortunately, didn't see the light of day," she said. "This is a policy which spoke to our values. It was all about aspiring to be a top 10 education nation to ensure that every young Australian reached his or her best potential, supported by evidence-based teaching, underpinned by parental choice and a strong commitment to faith-based education as well." Senator Henderson said many of her colleagues were frustrated. "Too many taxation policies were not pushed forward … [there was a] housing policy delivered on the run, a defence policy looking like an afterthought," she said. "We failed in a number of different ways, but we lost sight of our values." Tasmanian frontbencher Jonno Duniam let rip at the party for relying on "fatally flawed" polling and not heeding his warnings that the campaign wasn't working. "Something went off the rails," he said. "It's like having a compass telling you to go in one direction. In fact, you know you should be going in another. And that's what we did. We made decisions based on bad polling." Senator Duniam believes bad advice from campaign headquarters was behind Peter Dutton's backdown on his work-from-home policy. "Our numbers started to fall off a cliff the day we backed down on that policy," he said. "Not because people loved the policy, but they were feeling that they were mistaken about our leader and whether or not he was a strong man and whether he could be prime minister." Senator Duniam suggested people in the professional wing of the Liberal Party should consider their positions. "We were frankly in a very competitive position at the start of 2025, and that completely evaporated," he said. Some are blaming the organisational wing of the party for not running a better negative advertising campaign against Anthony Albanese. Four Corners has learnt that Peter Dutton was so frustrated he raised in a mid-campaign meeting that he wanted advertisements commissioned that called Mr Albanese a liar. A source said it wasn't pursued because Liberal campaign headquarters believed it wouldn't be persuasive. Another source said it was highly unusual to have a candidate try to suggest campaign advertising. Others in the party believe they went into the campaign with a false sense of confidence. The Liberal Party's own pollster said they overestimated the number of so-called Labor "defectors" to the Coalition. They wrongly assumed those who voted No in the Voice referendum were more likely to favour the Coalition at the election. Mr Hastie said while the referendum had plenty of downsides for Mr Albanese, the upside was that people also saw he was prepared to "politically die for something". "People saw that he was prepared to go hard for an idea even if he was going to fail. And I think you can't quantify that, but people certainly, I think it reflected that people thought he had some convictions," he said. "He put a referendum, he lost and moved on. But at least people, I think in the end, saw that he was willing to follow through on it." Not all Liberals agree the campaign was the ultimate problem. Former Liberal minister George Brandis said the policies announced alienated Australians. "We alienated women. We offended public servants. We offended multicultural communities. We insulted people who live in the inner cities. It was almost as if we were running out of new people to offend," he said. "I think people who say that it was just because of a bad campaign, that we got the worst result we've ever got and ignore the orientation of the party and the image of itself that it projected to the community over some years, are kidding themselves." New Liberal leader Sussan Ley has committed to change, saying the party must "reflect modern Australia" and that government is formed "in the sensible centre". Senator Henderson rejected critiques that the party moved too far to the right and focused too much on so-called culture wars. "The answer is not to move to the centre, but to move forward as one united team … continuing to bring together classical Liberals and conservatives in our great party together with the Nationals," she said. "That is the best and most important way forward for our party." NSW Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic said the party must address deeper problems if it ever wants to win elections again. "If we focused on our economic credentials, if we focused on making Australia a better and more prosperous country returning and restoring living standards in a more meaningful way, then I think we would've connected with people." Four Corners explores the Liberal Party's existential crisis of what it stands for and who it represents. Watch tonight on ABC TV and ABC iview. Internally, a debate is brewing about nuclear power and whether the Liberals should stick with its promise of net zero emissions by 2050. Mr Hastie told Four Corners he wanted the party's commitment to net zero reconsidered. "I think the question of net zero, that's a straitjacket that I'm already getting out of," he said. "The real question is should Australian families and businesses be paying more for their electricity? And should we allow this sort of hypocrisy at the heart of our economy to continue whereby we sell coal and gas to India and China, and we deny it to our own people? That's the question that I think we need to answer." While Mr Hastie wants Australia's moratorium on nuclear lifted, Senator Kovacic said it was time for the party to dump the policy. "It was going to be hard enough as it was," Senator Kovacic said. "Even if we'd started on it on Monday, if we'd won the election, [it would have been] hard to deliver. Three years into the future, it's going to be even harder. "Most young Australians believe that climate change is real and we have to deliver energy policies that ensure that we reach our net zero targets and that we deliver stable power … that is as cheap as possible." Former Liberal MP Jason Falinski, who lost his seat of Mackellar in Sydney to teal independent Sophie Scamps at the 2022 election, said the party needs to stop viewing energy policy through a culture lens. "If we are talking about coal versus nuclear versus renewable versus whether it's even happening at all, then you are in a culture war scenario and our opponents love that issue," he said. The Liberals' split, and looming reunion, with the Nationals exposed the mistrust in the Coalition. The Nationals ended the partnership when Sussan Ley would not immediately commit to key policies. Senator Duniam called the Nationals' demands "contrived", telling Four Corners it was unrealistic to have policy decisions settled within weeks of an election. "The Nationals wanted to dictate to the Liberals what their policies should be. Now imagine if the tables were turned … I can't imagine my Nationals colleagues abiding by that and going quietly," he said. Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie denied the party had pushed Ms Ley into policy commitments. "We had every right to assume that the policies we took to an election only three weeks earlier remained Coalition policy," she said. Ms Ley's leadership may face another test soon. The first female leader of the Liberal Party won the leadership ballot by just four votes earlier this month, beating Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor. But three party room members nominally aligned with the moderate leader who took part in the vote will have left by next month. It has left some observers wondering whether the muddy majority leaves the door open for Ms Ley's authority to be undermined by conservatives eyeing the leadership. Lindsay MP Melissa McIntosh said the party "can't let that happen". "I feel the sense of the party room getting behind her … but every female, I think stepping up as a first, does face unique challenges," she said. Ms McIntosh survived a pre-selection challenge during her last term, when Peter Dutton was forced to step in to protect her, then promote her to shadow cabinet. She says structural change is needed to protect women like her in the Liberal Party. "[Women] need to feel like part of something and they need to be protected. And that's gonna take time. And I think Sussan's, you know, she's our first female leader, but she understands this. So, she's a great leader to push these changes as well." New Deputy Leader Ted O'Brien said Ms Ley being the first female leader of the party was a point of pride, but it was "first and foremost because she's the right leader for the party". "I believe she'll lead with a united team," he said. Not everyone is as optimistic. Asked if the party had hit rock bottom, Jason Falinski laughed, "I think the answer is no". "There's further for us to go, but that's necessary. I think we've put off a lot of arguments for a long time and it's time to have it out." Watch Four Corners's Decimated, reported by Patricia Karvelas, tonight from 8:30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
Daily Mail
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Peppa Pig's PR guru revealed: The woman behind amazing viral sensation that saw story of cartoon porker giving birth go global
When it was announced live on Good Morning Britain yesterday that national icon Peppa Pig had welcomed a new baby sister, fans across the world could hardly contain their excitement. It was the latest step in a masterful PR campaign which has seen the loveable cartoon character and her family - Mummy, Daddy and brother George - go viral in recent months as excitement built for the big announcement. From live interviews with the family on Good Morning Britain to a gender reveal party at Battersea Power Station, the brand has kept audiences hooked and made headlines across the world. Now, MailOnline can reveal how the company behind the campaign engineered its publicity Masterclass - and the woman behind it. Peppa Pig's PR team lies in PrettyGreen, an agency with years of experience handling clients that are some of the world's largest brands - including Amazon Music, Disney and Pizza Express. Headed up by Managing Director Sarah Henderson, who has been at the firm for 14 years, staff at PrettyGreen worked hard behind the scenes to turn the cartoon into global news, reaching some 1.4 billion people around the world. Ms Henderson, who has some two decades of experience in PR, has previously handled publicity for major brands including Nando's, Nintendo, Snapchat, Three Mobile, Cadbury, Audible and, of course, Hasbro - the firm behind Peppa Pig. After joining the firm in 2011, Ms Henderson worked her way to the top of the business, becoming Group Managing Director in 2021. The brand took inspiration from celebrity pregnancy announcements that take millions by storm - such as Rihanna's recent baby bump reveal at the 2025 Met Gala - to create a moment that 'broke the internet' with a 'playful, relatable moment'. Following a similar strategy, Henderson and her team were able to harness the media and create a unique TV moment that saw a live announcement which went viral on social media - with 57 million views on GMB's TikTok post alone. It all began with an exclusive 'live' interview with Mummy Pig on GMB with showbiz correspondent Richard Arnold. Appearing from her house in 'Peppatown' Mummy Pig was about to spill her major news before being interrupted by her eldest Peppa, who excitedly told her 'mummy, mummy they're showing you on TV, come and see!' After the brief interlude, Mummy Pig was ready with her news. 'I'm excited to share that our family is getting even bigger because we're having another baby!' she told a delighted Richard, before the camera panned back to reveal her baby bump. Mummy Pig also showed off her ultrasound as she revealed she was due in the summer. It was confirmed her pregnancy would also be announced in the perfect cliffhanger - the final episode of the latest series of Peppa Pig, which aired on March 30. The news quickly went around the world, with news outlets covering the story with just as much enthusiasm as any other major pregnancy. And PrettyGreen was quick to take advantage of Peppa's renewed fame by hosting a gender reveal party at one of the UK's most iconic landmarks. The huge party was held at London's Battersea Power Station on April 25, at which Mummy and Daddy Pig dropped a curtain to unveil that they were expecting to welcome a baby girl to add to the family this summer. The global smash hit cartoon also celebrated the gender reveal news with a VIP party at the world's first-ever permanent Peppa Pig store at Battersea on Friday, featuring fundraising in support of NCT, the UK's leading charity for pregnancy and parents. And now, just a month later, Ms Henderson lead PrettyGreen to break the internet again with the announcement of the birth of the new family member - little Evie. Returning to GMB, it was revealed live on air that Mummy Pig welcomed a girl named Evie at 5:34AM on Tuesday. This time Peppa Pig really went the whole hog - appearing at the Lindo Wing in London, the same location where Kate Middleton gave birth to all three of her children, and even employing a town crier. The birth was announced with a royal-inspired twist on the classic royal birth announcement, complete with a town crier, a scroll-style proclamation, and the unveiling of an official Peppa Pig birth certificate. Addressing the public from outside the hospital the crier declared: 'Lend me your ears for news of the birth of a daughter to Mummy and Daddy Pig. Peppa and George have a baby sister and her name is Evie. Long live Evie Pig!' A mock birth bulletin in the style of the royals' announcement was also made and displayed outside. And the excitement doesn't stop here, as fans can join the family on the big screen with Peppa Meets the Baby, a brand-new cinema experience launching May 30 in over 2,600 cinemas across 19 countries. The hour-long, song-filled screening features 10 brand-new episodes, as Peppa and George prepare for the arrival of their baby sister. And next week, GMB has promised to bring viewers Daddy Pig's first 'live' interview after the birth of Evie. Speaking about the success of the campaign online, a PrettyGreen spokesperson said: 'Leaning into internet culture and humour, we transformed this animated milestone into a viral moment, by recreating iconic celebrity pregnancy announcements alongside family photos and a sonogram. 'It provided media, influencers, and earned outlets alike with a rich content library to amplify the story, culminating into a highly shareable global, cross-channel campaign.' They added: 'Mummy Pig Pregnancy broke the internet, trending across Google, X, and TikTok. 'The buzz led to an 88% surge in Peppa Pig UK Google searches and a massive 57M views on Good Morning Britain's TikTok alone. 'The story injected light-hearted positivity into the news cycle, cementing Peppa Pig at the heart of pop culture - sparking conversation on Reddit, Mumsnet, and even earning nods from brands like John Lewis and Grind Coffee.' Peppa Pig first aired in 2004 and has since been broadcast in 180 territories and translated into 40 languages. It's spawned books, toys and even two theme parks, with the global Peppa empire now worth over £1 billion. Creators Neville Astley and Mark Baker admitted they were worried the idea would never get off the ground, and that people were initially bored of the idea. People in the pub would ask us, 'What are you drawing?' We'd say, 'A pig, called Peppa, it's going to be big.' They'd lose interest and wander off', explained Astley. The pair created Peppa and her family working in each other's houses or at the local pub. The creators explained that the secret to Peppa's long-lasting appeal is the show's simplicity, as well as ensuring the piglet is never the butt of the jokes. 'We put a lot of work into making everything look as effortless as possible, said Baker. 'We can laugh at the adults, but children don't like it if we laugh at the children in the show.'
