Children around Australia are bound to be excited today with the news that beloved former Wiggle Emma Watkins is returning to our screens with a brand new character.
WATCH: Emma Watkins reveals new character
Ahead of the release of a new album next month, Emma has revealed she’s traded in her yellow skivvy for a bright orange dress as her new AUSLAN-speaking character, Emma Memma.
“It feels like the colour represents this new chapter moving forward and because orange is symbolic of being happy, I think that is something we love to represent,” Emma told the Daily Telegraph of her new persona.
The star, who made her exit from the popular children’s group last October, said she has been working on her latest project since wrapping up her stint as the Yellow Wiggle.
She added that she hoped Emma Memma – who incorporates basic sign language into her singing and dancing – would encourage kids to learn AUSLAN.
“Children learn and indicate with movement before they even talk and use any kind of spoken language. Gesture and movement is by far one of the most important connectors for children. Visual communication actually helps learning, which is why lots of children’s entertainment is colourful, it is bright and moving, because children engage with that,” she told the publication.
The entertainer also gave a sneak peek into her new role in a video posted to Instagram, along with her new sidekick, Elvin Melvin.
The welcome news comes following her departure from The Wiggles after a decade, with Emma saying that time off during COVID lockdown had given her a chance to reflect on what she now wants to achieve, including completing her PhD at Macquarie University.
In a previous interview with Stellar magazine, Emma spoke about her time as part of the legendary group while looking back on her journey as the first female member of The Wiggles.
“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,” Emma explained to the publication of her choice to exit The Wiggles.
“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.”
WATCH: Emma Watkins annouces The Wiggles departure
Emma added that while she loved her time in the group, she initially faced backlash and “wasn’t really liked” when she was introduced as the group’s first female member, saying that many were “territorial about the original group.”
“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,” she noted, adding, “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.”
