Gladiator star Jodie Ounsley is set to appear in an upcoming Peppa Pig episode focused on childhood hearing loss taking on a role that closely mirrors her own life experience.

The 25-year-old athlete known to Gladiators viewers as Fury will voice an audiologist in a new storyline revealing that George Pig has moderate hearing loss and is fitted with a hearing aid.

Ounsley was born deaf and received a cochlear implant as a toddler.

Speaking to the Press Association Ounsley said she was “so grateful” to be involved in the storyline which aims to educate children and parents while offering reassurance.

“When my character revealed George’s hearing loss, I felt like I was speaking to my parents,” she said.

“I was so young, so I wasn’t aware of this experience, only through what my mum and dad have told me.

“I don’t think I realised how emotional it felt for them in that moment in time. It was quite bizarre to be in that position.

“But even more so, I think it’s why I put more heart into it, because it felt quite real. Hopefully that comes across in the episode, to the parents and kids watching it.”

Ounsley explained that her parents’ experience following her diagnosis had been difficult, describing how the way information is delivered can shape a family’s outlook.

“When it’s the very start of your kid’s life, you really hang onto words. I think it’s the way you deliver things,” she said.

“I think for them it was very much, ‘your daughter has been found as deaf, here’s a leaflet, off you go’.

“They could have said, ‘don’t worry, here are some resources. She still will have a very great life, she’s just going to have challenges’. That would have completely shifted their mindset.”

She said she was determined to bring a positive and reassuring tone to the storyline.

“When I was going through the scripts and things like that, I thought, ‘I am speaking to actual parents right now’,” she said.

Ounsley admitted she was initially stunned when she was offered the role, adding: “Once we got into the storyline, it just made it even more special to work on, because it was something I’ve really related to in so many aspects of my own life.

“It’s been incredible, and I’m so grateful to be part of it.

“Last year, had you mentioned this opportunity, I would have never even imagined, or believed, that I could do something like this.”

The storyline has been developed in partnership with the National Deaf Children’s Society and will air on Milkshake from March 9.