Four new faces are joining The Wiggles to better represent diversity and gender equality for its youth audience. Photo / Supplied
Four new faces are joining The Wiggles to better represent diversity and gender equality for its youth audience. Photo / Supplied
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 RedWiggle 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.
"The Wiggles were created during a time when early childhood educational concepts were the focus," Blue Wiggle Anthony Field 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 three new characters - 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 Hawkins with Dorothy the dinosaur. Photo / News Corp Australia
Tsehay, which means "the sun" in Amharic (Ethiopian) is passionate about music and dance and enjoys performing Colombian cultural dances, Brazilian Samba and Salsa dancing.
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
Blue Wiggle Evie Ferris. Photo / News Corp Australia
Evie is a Taribelang woman who is a ballet dancer. She is the second First Nations woman to have joined the Australian Ballet. She also loves yoga and reading.
John Pearce
Purple Wiggle John Pearce. Photo / News Corp Australia
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. As a personal trainer, John will bring his love of getting strong, working out and dance to The Wiggles.
Yellow Wiggle Kelly Hamilton. Photo / News Corp Australia
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 skateboard, dance, watch live music and travel.
