Bluey's surprise new episode was based on this dad's chaotic family camping trip

Surprise, the unexpected coda to the hit cartoon's powerhouse season finale, is based on Heritage's family camping trip three years ago, and it's made him a hero in the eyes of his children and all their friends.

It all began in 2021 when Heritage, a pop culture reporter for the Guardian based in Kent, England, decided to take his kids, then aged three and six, on a weekend camping trip all by himself — "which, in retrospect, was incredibly foolish," he said.

At a playground near the campsite, one child insisted they play "floor is lava," while the other proposed a "complicated alien defence game on a climbing frame," Heritage said.

The Australian animated kids' series Bluey is bringing many parents to tears as the family looks to uproot their lives so the dad can move to a new job.

By this point, Heritage was all in on Bluey, the critically acclaimed Australian animated series about a family of dogs that's become a fan-favourite for both children and parents, alike.

So after a wild day of simultaneously fending off alien invaders whilst avoiding hot lava, Heritage locked himself in the campsite bathroom for a brief moment of respite.