The Wiggles are celebrating a massive 30 years and their evolution continues as they make three very big Wiggly announcements on what’s coming up.
Today, the world’s most popular children’s group revealed that Tsehay Hawkins is set to become the new Yellow Wiggle when Emma Watkins departs the group at the end of this year, after nine years of performing in the yellow skivvy as the first ever female Wiggle.
Along with this bittersweet news, The Wiggles are very excited that they will be returning to stages across Australia from February 2022 with a brand-new Fruit Salad TV Big Show arena tour, and the OG Wiggles will be embarking on an over-18 tour across the country.
Confirming hew departure from group, Emma Watkins said:
“Like many people around the world, the pandemic has given me time to reflect on what is important in life. For me, that means spending more time at home, something that I didn’t realise I was missing out on being away eight months of the year on tour, but something that I have really cherished over the last 18 months.
“I am also really looking forward to devoting more time and energy on completing my PhD that incorporates my ongoing passion for sign language, dance and film editing, and to having more time to work with the Deaf community.
“I am eternally grateful to The Wiggles for giving me the amazing opportunity to be the first female Wiggle, a role that I have loved and one that has brought me so much joy and an abundance of bowtiful memories that I will treasure forever.
“As The Wiggles continue to evolve and someone new now steps into the yellow skivvy, I look forward to seeing children and families embrace them, just as I was when I began. I wish The Wiggles much continued success as they continue to delight children all over the world.”
On behalf of The Wiggles, founding member Anthony Field AM said,
“Emma first began performing with The Wiggles 11 years ago, when she was cast as Fairy Larissa in our Dorothy the Dinosaur concerts and videos. She went on to play other roles including Wags the Dog, Dorothy the Dinosaur, and as a Wiggly dancer. Then in 2013, Greg famously handed over the yellow skivvy to Emma, making her the first female Wiggle.
“We’ve had an amazing time with Emma over this period and while we’re sad to see her go, we know she has many other passions she’d like to pursue, including her PhD and work with the Deaf community.
“We thank Emma for her wonderful contribution to The Wiggles and wish her all the very best as we look forward to seeing her continued success with her other interests.”
With Emma deciding to spend more time at home and devote more time and energy to her other passions, Tsehay Hawkins has stepped up to become the newest Yellow Wiggle.
Tsehay (pronounced se-hi, which means ‘the sun’ in Amharic) was recently announced as one of the new Wiggles’ cast members of Fruit Salad TV.
She is an award-winning dancer, representing Australia at the World Latin Dance Championships. Tsehay has also won eleven Australian titles and four World titles in Latin and Commercial Dance and is the current Australian and World Youth Ladies Salsa and Urban Latin Champion and the current World Amateur Ladies Salsa and Urban Latin Champion.
On becoming the new Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins said,
“I am honoured to be joining The Wiggles at such an exciting time for the group. I grew up watching The Wiggles and I’ve already loved working with Anthony, Emma, Simon, Lachy, Evie, Kelly, John and all the Wiggly characters filming their latest TV series Fruit Salad TV.
I’m now incredibly excited to be joining them in the yellow skivvy and to have the chance to go out on the road in the new arena tour, I can’t wait to meet all the Wiggly fans. Dancing has always been my passion, and I look forward to being able to share the joy of song and dance with children all over the world!”
Welcoming Tsehay to the group, Blue Wiggle Anthony added,
“As The Wiggles continue to evolve and we look towards the future, we’re very excited to be welcoming Tsehay into the yellow skivvy, and know that parents and children everywhere will embrace her infectious energy and warmth as much as everyone at The Wiggles and audiences of Fruit Salad TV already have.”
JOIN THE WIGGLES ON TOUR ALL OVER AUSTRALIA IN 2022!
With touring in Australia at a standstill for so long, it’s with much delight that The Wiggles will soon be out on the road again, sharing happiness with families all over the country!
Tsehay will join Anthony, Lachy and Simon on the road as The Wiggles make their highly-anticipated return to touring, bringing their brand-new Fruit Salad TV Big Show arena tour to stages around Australia.
Also making very special appearances as they tour around the country will be The Wiggles from Fruit Salad TV – Blue Wiggle Evie, Purple Wiggle John and Yellow Wiggle Kelly.
And of course, the fun doesn’t stop there with The Wiggles bringing along all of their Wiggly friends too: Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog, Henry the Octopus, Shirley Shawn the Unicorn, Officer Beaples and Bok the hand puppet!
The Fruit Salad TV Big Show arena tour will be jam-packed with all the excitement Wiggles fans know and love and the shows will feature all the fan-favourite songs such as ‘Do the Propeller!’, ‘Hot Potato’ and ‘Rock-a- Bye Your Bear’, as well as new and catchy tunes like ‘Dippy Do Dinosaur Dance’ from their YouTube exclusive Fruit Salad TV series.
The expanded Wiggly line-up are set to dance onto stages beginning in Cairns on February 5, and finishing in Adelaide in May visiting Townsville, Darwin, Hobart, Launceston, Melbourne, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra, Perth, Kalgoorlie, Sydney and Brisbane.
Blue Wiggle, Anthony Field AM says,
“We are excited for the next chapter in The Wiggles’ history, which started with Fruit Salad TV and continues on with our live shows. We’ve been stuck at home for so long and we just can’t wait to introduce our amazing line-up of incredibly talented performers to children and families all over Australia. We can’t wait to see you there!”
Tickets are on-sale from October 22 at www.thewiggles.com.
Sat 5 Feb Cairns Convention Centre (10am & 1pm show) QLD
Sun 6 Feb Townsville Entertainment & Convention Centre (10am & 1pm show) QLD
Sat 12 Feb Darwin Entertainment Centre (10am, 1pm & 4pm show) NT
Sat 19 Feb MyState Bank Arena (10am & 1pm show) TAS
Sun 20 Feb Theatre North – Launceston (10am, 1pm & 4pm show) TAS
Sat 12 Feb Rod Laver Arena (10am & 1pm show) VIC
Sun 13 March Rod Laver Arena (10am & 1pm show) VIC
Sat 2 April Newcastle Entertainment Centre (10am & 1pm show) NSW
Sun 3 April Wollongong Entertainment Centre (10am & 1pm show) NSW
Mon 4 April Canberra Playhouse Theatre (10am,1pm & 4pm show) ACT
Tue 5 April Canberra Playhouse Theatre (10am & 1pm show) ACT
Sat 9 April RAC Arena Perth (10am, 1pm show) WA
Sun 10 April RAC Arena Perth (10am, 1pm show) WA
Mon 11 April Kalgoorlie Goldfields Art Centre (10am, 1pm show) WA
Sat 23 April Qudos Bank Arena (10am, 1pm & 4pm show) NSW
Sat 30 April Brisbane Entertainment Centre (10am & 1pm show) QLD
Sat 7 May Adelaide Entertainment Centre (1pm & 4pm show) SA
BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND… THE LEGENDARY AND ICONIC OG WIGGLES SATURDAY NIGHT 18+ ARENA GIGS WITH THE HOTTEST SUPPORT ACTS
Following the huge success of their recent sold-out adults-only concert, the OG Wiggles are back! With their last reunion performance receiving an overwhelming response and selling out in just five minutes, Anthony Field, Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt and Greg Page will tour the country with very special Saturday and Sunday night 18+ shows, featuring some of The Wiggles’ best-loved songs and cameos from characters such as Captain Feathersword, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, and Henry the Octopus.
And with The OG Wiggles’ extraordinary music creds, it’s no surprise that they’re being supported by some of the country’s very best bands. Each show will have a wild support act, featuring some of Australia’s most loved and esteemed music artists, including Polish Club, DZ Deathrays and more.
Jeff Fatt, OG Purple Wiggle, said,
“All of those children who loved The Wiggles in the 90s are now adults who love the nostalgia and fun from that time in their lives. This night is for the grown-ups and is a chance to bring back some of that genuine, high-spirited liveliness again. We can’t wait to relive those childhood memories and dance the night away to some of the favourite old-school tunes.”
“It will be The Wiggles as you remember and love them, but we’ll all have a bit more grey hair… and there’s a bar. We’ll be playing all your favourite songs, and put on a show you won’t forget,” added Murray Cook, OG Red Wiggle.
“Looking forward to getting back on stage with the OG Wiggles – we always have a great time together, and can’t wait to see the “kids” reliving their childhood. I may have to pull back a bit on the dancing this time around though!” said Greg Page, OG Yellow Wiggle.
This is the reunion tour you will not want to miss! Toot-toot chugga chugga, tickets are on-sale from October 22 at www.thewiggles.com.au.
The OG Wiggles Over-18 arena tour dates
Saturday 12 February Darwin Entertainment Centre NT
Saturday 19 February Derwent Entertainment Centre TAS
Saturday 12 March Rod Laver Arena VIC
Saturday 9 April RAC Arena Perth WA
Saturday 23 April Qudos Bank Arena NSW
Saturday 30 April Brisbane Entertainment Centre QLD
Saturday 7 May Adelaide Entertainment Centre SA
So, at 30 years and counting, and still evolving, it’s safe to say the future of The Wiggles is bright. They can’t wait to see you all at a show very soon.
