Peppa Pig voice actress Harley Bird has confirmed she is stepping down from her role after 13 years. The 18-year-old is set to be replaced by nine-year-old Amelie Bea, who has described the job as "a dream come true". Of the surprising news, Harley said in a statement: "Becoming the voice of Peppa at the age of five was the start of an incredible journey, and I'll never forget my time on the show."
© Photo: Getty ImagesHarley Bird has played Peppa Pig for 13 years
She added: "The people that work on Peppa Pig have become like a family to me and they've given me some unforgettable memories." Turning her attention to her successor, Harley concluded: "I wish Amelie the best of luck in the role and am looking forward to starting the next chapter in my life." Amelie is set to become the fourth actress to take on the voice of the hugely popular cartoon character.
MORE: What Team HELLO! are watching this week
Harley turned 18 in December, and is currently focusing on her A-levels. At the time, the teenager appeared on This Morning where she opened up about working on Peppa Pig. When she first auditioned for the role of Peppa at the age of five, the child star was too young to read the script and the producers were forced to "repeat her lines".
Asked about how difficult it was to sing as Peppa, Harley said: "It's not that hard at all. I've got the voice of an angel obviously, even when we started Peppa, we'd do one of the short songs they'd be like, 'It's okay, Peppa doesn't need to sing.'" She previously said on the ITV show: "I've done Peppa for 11 years now. I really understand the character; I know how she speaks, how she would do things, how she would react."
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
