Emma Watkins: The yellow Wiggle will step away at end of the year

Emma Watkins has called time on her career with the Wiggles and will step down at the end of the year — and her replacement has already been confirmed.

The popular entertainer will hand her yellow skivvy to 16-year-old dancer Tsehay Hawkins.

In a statement released today, Watkins announced the move saying it was time for her to pass the yellow skivvy on, saying numerous COVID lockdowns over the past two years had given her time to reassess her life.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

Watkins — who recently announced her engagement to bandmate Oliver Brian — has been open with personal struggles, including with endometriosis, which coupled with the Wiggles’ relentless touring schedule, forced her to take a break from performing in 2018.

“It was maybe eight years into the touring and being on the road constantly and filming back-to-back that my periods actually started to run into each other and the bleeding was actually non-stop,” she told the Western Sydney Health Check podcast.

“And at that point, that’s when I thought something was up.

“I kind of let the touring cover up for the fact that I was very unwell.

“It was hard for me to find control in my life, or a controlled environment, where I could see if it was me or it was just a lot of shows.”

Watkins took over the role from founding Wiggle Greg Page who briefly returned to the group after Sam Moran was sacked in 2012.

Watkins’ replacement Tsehay was one of four culturally diverse Wiggles to join the cast in August. Originally from Ethiopia, Tsehay previously wore the red skivvy made famous by Murray Cook and Simon Pryce.

Blue Wiggle Anthony Field in August said the move to expand the ensemble to include culturally diverse members was designed to better reflect their audience.

“I looked around the world and I thought: ‘We have to reflect our audience’. Our audience is not just one culture, we want children to see a mirror of themselves,” he said.