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'Rugrats' reboot character Betty DeVille to be openly gay

Watch: Phil and Lil’s mom is an out lesbian single mom in ‘Rugrats’ reboot

Rugrats character Betty DeVille will be openly gay in the CGI reboot, it has been revealed.

The 90s cartoon is being revamped with Parks And Recreation star Natalie Morales voicing Betty, the mum of Phil and Lil DeVille.

The actor – who came out as queer in 2017 – said she hopes Betty will be “a beacon for young queer people”.

Read more: New Rugrats series and movie in the pipeline

The Rugrats are crawling back to your screen (PA)
The Rugrats are crawling back to your screen (PA)

She told The AV Club: “Betty is a single mom with her own business who has twins and still has time to hang out with her friends and her community, and I think it’s just so great because examples of living your life happily and healthily as an out queer person is just such a beacon for young queer people who may not have examples of that.”

Morales said while Betty is fictional, when she was young if she’d seen the character casually discussing a former girlfriend a part of her “would have felt like things might be okay in the future”.

Rugrats premiered in 1991 and followed a group of toddlers and their lives.

Natalie Morales attends NBC�s Mid-Season Press Day 2019 Red Carpet on January 24th, 2019 at The Four Seasons Hotel in New York, New York, USA. Robin Platzer/ Twin Images/ SIPA USA
Natalie Morales voices Betty in the reboot. (Robin Platzer/ Twin Images/ SIPA USA)

The show - which featured voice performances from the likes of Simpsons legends Nancy Cartwright and Dan Castellaneta - was hugely popular.

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It ran for nine series and 172 episodes through the 90s and early 2000s, with its final episode airing in 2004.

Kath Soucie voiced Betty in the original series.

Several original cast members are reprising their roles in the reboot, including Cartwright as Chuckie and Cheryl Chase as Angelica.

Watch: Rugrats cast recreate fan favourite lines