Much maligned, or much loved? Both really! Peppa Pig remains a stalwart favourite of many young children despite accusations of sexism in the portrayal of Daddy Pig as a bumbling idiot – though sometimes described as "television Calpol" the percentage of parents who actually have a clue what happens in those hyperactive five minute segments is pretty minuscule. Popularity seems to perfectly happily cross the gender divide too, though the memo doesn't seem to have made it to the merchandise creators who still brand it as predominantly girls' stuff. The programme is set in a geographically-isolated evolved but static version of Mao's China, where regardless of species pretty much every family has exactly the same structure and ages of children – who obviously never grow up, though there are occasional new arrivals. — David

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