The popular children’s show Peppa Pig now stars a welcome human called Daisy and she is as sweet as her name! Emma Grace Arends stars as the first human character in the popular children’s first motion picture ‘Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience’. Emma stars as Daisy, Peppa’s bubbly human friend and brings the interactive cinema experience to life.

Join Peppa in this exciting new preschool cinema experience, with plenty of snorts, giggles and jumping up and down in muddy puddles!  Each of the nine brand-new episodes will be connected with never-before-seen interactive entertainment featuring live action Peppa and George characters and their friend Daisy, in her colourful new world.

Emma Grace grew up in Southport, gaining her first professional acting job at only 14, when she performed at the famous Liverpool Empire Theatre. She joins the list of many fan favourites like Rita Ora, Amy Winehouse and Emma Bunton by training at the prestigious Sylvia Young’s Theatre School. Right after graduation from The Arts Educational Acting School, this talented actress was offered the role of Helen Forrester in Twopence to Cross the Mersey. After spending two seasons starring as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Arends joined Peppa Pig’s Big Splash theatre tour. Noticing her talent, the producers soon offered her the part of Daisy in the first ever Peppa Pig movie.

Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience is produced by Phil Davies, Neville Astley, Mark Baker and will be released into UK cinema on the 7^th April and in the US on the 4^th July.

Playing the same role twice must be exciting, how do you feel about getting to play daisy in Peppa pig for a second time round? 

I really enjoy playing Daisy. She is fun, bubbly and very energetic. I played Daisy in Peppa Pig’s Big Splash then again in Peppa Pig’s Surprise in the theatrical version that toured the UK. This led to me playing Daisy in the new interactive cinema experience ‘Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience’.

Peppa pig is a big children’s show, was it scary taking on a role like this?

The children love Peppa so much I didn’t want to let them down , I hope Daisy comes across like a fun big sister to them. I love a challenge so taking on new roles , building a character then seeing the finished product is great.

Will Peppa Pig come back to the theatres? 

As long as there is an audience I think Peppa Pig will tour forever. It’s a great fun packed, fast paced , exciting show. Just like the cinema experience it might also be that child’s first experience of theatre so we have a big job on our hands. We want to make it the best experience they can possibly have, leaving them with good memories to go away with so they enjoy visiting the cinema or theatre again as they get older.

You’ve performed in theatre, film and television; do you have a favourite?

I love them all in different ways. Theatre you can rehearse for months for a performance that lasts just as long as the rehearsals took and then it’s gone in a second whereas film and TV generally have a lot less rehearsal time and lasts forever. I get a buzz when I’ve nailed a performance on stage but also love watching a finished piece and seeing which ‘takes’ were used from TV and film. At different points in your life you will prefer different mediums based on what the project is and what medium you played in last. We had such a great time at Halliford Studios filming the interactive content for Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience.

What role would you like to take on next? 

I have enjoyed being a children’s presenter and working for Entertainment One so that would be a great avenue to stay down and but on the other side with theatre it would also be wonderful to perform some Chekhov or Pinter. The Donmar and RSC is every actors dream, hopefully one day soon.

Do you enjoy performing to a younger audience? 

I think a younger audience are your biggest critics , it doesn’t take you long to know whether you have kept them engaged or not. You have three seconds before you lose their attention. It’s a great feeling when you have them dancing and enjoying themselves whilst also happily following the story.

What is Peppa Pig : My First Cinema Experience about? 

Peppa Pig: My First Cinema Experience features nine brand new, never before seen episodes and exclusive interactive content for one whole hour of fun! It’s also the perfect opportunity for you to introduce your little ones to cinema in a safe and exciting environment. In between episodes there’s the interactive content that includes lots of games, songs and dances for pre-schoolers (and parents!) to join in with the antics on screen, led by Peppa and George puppets and their friend Daisy, played by myself. The audience can singalong and join in the actions to new versions of favourite nursery rhymes, including The Wheels on the Bus and Row Row Your boat!

What other children ‘s characters would you like to play?

I enjoy David Walliams’ stories, his characters are always fun and distinctive or being a host on ‘Bedtime Stories’ for CBeebies. It’s amazing Disney are bringing all the old animated stories to life through live action. It lets our generation enjoy old stories we watched years ago whilst introducing the young generation to fabulous Classic Disney stories .

What children’s shows did you watch when you we’re growing up?

I really enjoyed ‘Sooty’ with Matthew Corbett which is funny as I guess Daisy’s interactive experience with Peppa & George is a modern day puppet show but with a lot more interaction.

You have a soundtrack for the show, was it a fun experience recording the CD? 

Yes we have CD version of Peppa Pig’s Big Splash and Peppa Pig’s Surprise, including songs like ‘Splish Splash in muddy puddles’ . We had a absolute blast in the recording studio and would love to experience it all over again. I would really like to to get into voice over work. I was a finalist for the Carlton Hobbs award whilst training at Arts Ed Drama School and loved interpreting scripts and delivering believable performances just through the power of your own voice.