The Wiggles announces four new band members with focus on diversity, gender equality

The Wiggles have announced four new members will be joining the band, in a move to represent diversity and gender equality.

The Wiggles family has officially grown to eight.

In a major cast shake-up for the beloved children’s group, four new faces are joining the band in a move to represent diversity and gender equality for its youth audience.

Joining Blue Wiggle Anthony, Yellow Wiggle Emma, Purple Wiggle Lachy, and Red Wiggle Simon will be newcomers Blue Wiggle Evie, Yellow Wiggle Kelly, Purple Wiggle John and Red Wiggle Tsehay.

The team of eight will front a new series, Fruit Salad TV, dedicated to embracing all Australians no matter their race, age or gender. It is set to premiere on September 4 exclusively on The Wiggles’ YouTube channel.

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The new look Wiggles!

“The Wiggles were created during a time when early childhood educational concepts were the focus,” Blue Wiggle Anthony Field AM said in a statement.

“As society has evolved, we have embraced the need for diversity and inclusiveness and want children all over the world to see themselves reflected on the screen.

“It’s so important that The Wiggles continue to evolve along with our society. This is the first step towards shaping The Wiggles for the next 30 years, taking us in a direction that truly represents and serves our community more inclusively.

“We are excited for the next chapter in The Wiggles’ history which will start with Fruit Salad TV and continue on with our other content and our live shows.

“We can’t wait to introduce our amazing new line-up of incredibly talented performers to children in Australia and around the world.”

Also joining the Wiggles community are another three new characters, including Officer Beaples, a dancing police officer, Shirley Shawn, a non-binary unicorn, and Bok the hand puppet.

Meet the new Wiggles

Tsehay Hawkins

Red Wiggle Tsehay with Dorothy the dinosaur.

Tsehay, which means ‘the sun’ in Amharic (Ethiopian) is passionate about music and dance and enjoys performing Colombian cultural dances, Brazilian Samba, Salsa dancing, and loves to shuffle. She is an award-winning dancer and is the current Australian and World Youth Ladies Salsa and Urban Latin Champion as well as the current World Amateur Ladies Salsa and Urban Latin Champion.

Evie Ferris

Evie joins as a new Blue Wiggle.

Evie is a Taribelang woman who is a highly talented ballet dancer. She is the second First Nations woman to have joined The Australian Ballet and a lover of yoga and reading.

John Pearce

John comes on-board as the Purple Wiggle.

John is of an Australian/Filipino background and was born in Sydney. He is known for his involvement in the Australian pop music group Justice Crew where he achieved chart-topping success and multiple ARIA nominations. As a personal trainer, John will bring his love of getting strong, working out and dance to The Wiggles.

Kelly Hamilton

And finally, Kelly is Yellow Wiggle.

Kelly is from Sydney and is of a Chinese/Australian background. She was formerly a dancer for The Wiggles and has also performed in other children’s shows such as Sesame Street, Justine Clarke, Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants. Kelly likes to ride her skateboard around Wiggle Town and loves to dance, watch live music and travel the world.