Emma Watkins reveals ‘challenges’ of her time in The Wiggles

In her first interview since leaving The Wiggles, Emma Watkins opens up about what drove her decision to leave.

2 min read

January 30, 2022 - 6:00AM

Speaking to Stellar magazine in her first interview since leaving The Wiggles, Emma Watkins talks about what really drove her decision, teases what’s next, and reflects on her legacy as the first woman to join the previously all-male quartet.

Watkins took over from founding member Greg Page as the new Yellow Wiggle in 2012, and shocked fans when she announced in October last year that she was stepping aside. At the time, she explained that forced downtime during the Covid pandemic caused her to re-evaluate “what was important in life”.

Speaking to Stellar, she said she was “really sorry” to any young fans she’d disappointed by leaving.

Watkins says she still feels ‘really sorry’ to any fans she let down by leaving The Wiggles. Picture: Getty

“I never, ever, ever – ever – want to let down the children. But I relate it to when I took time off after I had surgery for my endometriosis in 2018. I had two beautiful performers replace me on tour for a period of weeks. I felt terrible and kept thinking, how are we going to do this? But the children still came to the shows, because they love the music. That experience helped me make this decision, because everyone was OK after that,” she said.

And while she left the group as arguably one of Australia’s best-loved entertainers, Watkins explained to Stellar that it wasn’t always this way. Just as last year’s announcement of new, culturally diverse Wiggles members was met with a backlash from some quarters, Emma faced some pushback more than a decade ago when she became the first-ever female Wiggles member.

L-R: Emma with original Yellow Wiggle Greg Page and new Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins. Picture: Supplied

“It was a beautiful time. However, it wasn’t without its challenges. It took about two or three years to actually have people accept that there was a female among the group; that was a massive deal back then. It wasn’t really liked,” she said.

“A lot of people were very territorial about the original group and in a way I could understand, because I grew up with that group. So to then see how that changed over the decade, and children coming to the show dressed in beautiful Emma costumes, or wearing bows … it’s powerful.”