Robert Rakete is no longer the Brown Wiggle, his skivvy has turned green

Robert Rakete, radio host for The Breeze, joined The Wiggles in 2014 as "the brown Wiggle" but pressure has led to a skivvy colour change. Photo / NZH

Responding to a swathe of controversy and critics, The Wiggles have announced that Robert Rakete, aka the Brown Wiggle, will now be the Green Wiggle.

New Zealand radio personality, Robbie Rakete, became the "Brown Wiggle" in the popular children's group, back in 2014. Whilst a popular addition to the ensemble, a rising tide of criticism has accompanied the choice of colour for his costume.

Rakete - who is of Ngāpuhi descent - being dubbed the Brown Wiggle did not sit well with many and the current New Zealand tour has forced The Wiggles to make a change.

The Wiggles - made up of four core members Anthony Field, Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, and Emma Watkins - are currently on tour in New Zealand and it was during one of their latest concerts that Rakete premiered his new Wiggles skivvy.

Rakete took to his Instagram a week ago to show off his new threads, which have a lot more to them than just the colour green.

The selfie shows a very smiley Rakete posing in a green skivvy, adorned with a colourful array of images and what look like children's drawings, which in fact, they are.

Rakete captioned the photo: "New year. New skivvy. Thank you www.descatoire.co.nz for the skivvy *Sidath you're a legend* and shout out to #mayfieldprimaryschool for the designs! Let's go #thewiggles"

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A post shared by Robert Rakete (@robertrakete)

Rakete's involvement in The Wiggles came about as an on air joke with Anthony Field back in 2013.

Rakete and fellow Breakfast host Robert Scott were discussing the group, who were in the country for their Ready, Steady, Wiggle tour when the subject of Rakete joining was raised in a tongue-in-cheek way.

"Robert said to me: 'Wouldn't it be cool if you went along as the brown Wiggle? They've got all the primary colours, so why not brown?

Later, through some discussion with Anthony Field, it was agreed that Rakete would join the group performing on stage, as part of their tour. His cameo was a great success and Rakete was later invited by the group to join them in the studio for the filming of their latest television series.

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A post shared by Robert Rakete (@robertrakete)

Rakete is a valuable addition to Wiggles and brings a piece of New Zealand to the group, including introducing songs partly sung in Te Reo Māori. Hopefully his tenure as the Green Wiggle will be more in tune with Kiwi audiences, and more respectful of cultural diversity as a whole.