Popular children's show Peppa Pig has added a lesbian couple to its cast of animal characters for the first time.

In the recently episode titled "Families" which aired on Channel 5, Penny the polar bear introduced her two mothers when asked by her teacher to draw pictures of their families to put up on the wall.

Each student then has a turn to introduce their family members they have drawn and describe what they do for work and their characteristics.

Penny sketches a picture of her family and draws two female polar bears wearing dresses.

She tells her classmates: "I'm Penny Polar Bear. I live with my mummy and my other mummy.

"One mummy is a doctor and one mummy cooks spaghetti. I love spaghetti."

Madame Gazelle, the teacher, responds: "Lovely, Penny."

Penny's mothers are then shown arriving with other parents to pick up their children after school once the episode comes to an end.

Many viewers began to praise the decision to show an LGBT+ family for the first time in the cartoon show's history on social media.

One Twitter user wrote: "THIS is how young children should be taught about inclusion.

"We don't need to talk to them about sexuality. Just show all types of families. They'll understand the rest when it's appropriate."

Another person tweeted: "An autistic character in Thomas the Tank Engine and a kid with two mums in Peppa Pig... it's been a good day for representation!"

Peppa Pig first aired in 2004 and is now available in more than 180 territories. It even draws millions of viewers in the US and was last year's second most in-demand cartoon in America after SpongeBob SquarePants.