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Why did a Peppa Pig episode get banned in Australia?

The Answer

The episode “Mr. Skinny Legs” features a spider that is befriended by Peppa and the gang. Peppa is told by her father than spiders are harmless. In Australia spiders can be quite harmful and believing otherwise could be dangerous to children.

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What could be harmful to children about Peppa Pig? The stories are nice and children are told to be kind to one another. In fact, encouraging children to be nice to animals is a great message… unless you’re in Australia.

In “Mister Skinny Legs,” Peppa Pig’s brother George finds a spider in the sink and becomes its friend. Peppa is scared at first, but her father tells her, “There’s no need to be afraid. Spiders are very, very small, and they can’t hurt you.”

The Peppa Pig Episode Kids in Australia Can't See | Mental Floss

In Australia, there is a need to be scared. Spiders are very very big and the can hurt you.

These big dangerous spiders include the Huntsman spider (seen below – and in our nightmares – carrying a mouse up the side of a refrigerator), venomous redback spider, the funnel-web spider, white-tailed spider, and the wolf-spider.

Huntsman Spider Carrying a Dead Mouse | National Geographic

The “Mr. Skinny Legs” originally aired in the UK in 2004. It was first banned from public broadcasting in Australia in 2012, then was banned again after it aired on the cable channel Nick Jr. after it aired the episode a few years later.

Idea Credit

Again credit for bringing our attention to this topic goes to  Tom Scott‘s YouTube quiz show Lateral

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