You probably remember the primary colors. Blue, Red, Yellow, Purple. For decades, those four shirts—or skivvies, if you’re being Aussie about it—were synonymous with Greg, Murray, Jeff, and Anthony. But if you’ve flipped on the TV lately to soothe a screaming toddler, you might’ve felt a bit like you stepped into a parallel universe. The screen is crowded now. There’s a lot more than four people jumping around. Honestly, keeping track of the cast of The Wiggles TV show in 2026 feels a bit like trying to memorize the roster of a mid-sized football team.
It’s not just "The Wiggles" anymore; it’s an ensemble.
The transition wasn’t overnight, though it feels that way if you haven’t watched since 2012. Back then, the "Old Guard" handed over the keys to the Big Red Car. Now, we’re in the era of the "Fruit Salad TV" lineup, a massive expansion that happened around 2021 to make the show feel more like the real world. More diversity, more instruments, and way more energy.
The Current Lineup: Who’s Wearing What?
Anthony Field is still there. He’s the Blue Wiggle, the founder, and basically the glue holding the entire multi-million dollar empire together. At this point, Anthony is more than just a performer; he’s a childhood institution. He’s been doing this since 1991, and while his knees might feel the "Hot Potato" dance a bit more than they used to, he hasn't lost that frantic, wide-eyed energy.
But he isn't alone in blue anymore.
One of the biggest shifts in the cast of The Wiggles TV show was the introduction of gender-balanced "doubles" for each color. Evie Ferris, an incredibly talented Indigenous Australian ballet dancer, joined as the second Blue Wiggle. It changed the dynamic. Instead of a quartet, the show shifted into an eight-person core for the Fruit Salad TV era, though the "main" four usually take center stage for the big tours.
The Yellow Skivvy: From Emma to Tsehay
For a long time, Emma Watkins was the undisputed queen of the group. She was the first female Wiggle, and her impact was massive. The "Emma Army" was real—thousands of kids wearing yellow bows. When she decided to leave in 2021 to focus on her PhD and her work with the deaf community (she’s a massive advocate for Auslan, Australian Sign Language), the producers had a huge gap to fill.
Enter Tsehay Hawkins.
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Tsehay (pronounced sa-hi) is a powerhouse. She was born in Ethiopia and adopted by an Australian family, and her background in Latin dance brings a completely different flavor to the choreography. She’s fast. She’s precise. If you watch her footwork during "Can You (Point Your Fingers and Do the Twist?)", you’ll see why she was a world-champion dancer before she could legally drive.
Purple and Red: Staying Power
Lachy Gillespie (Purple) and Simon Pryce (Red) are the veteran "new guys." They’ve been in the roles since 2013. Simon has this booming, operatic voice that honestly feels a bit too good for songs about mashed bananas, but it works. Lachy is the "sleepy" one, taking over the mantle from Jeff Fatt.
Joining them in the expanded cast:
- John Pearce (Purple): You might recognize him from the Australian pop group Justice Crew. He’s the "buff" Wiggle that parents on TikTok can't stop talking about.
- Caterina Mete (Red): A long-time choreographer for the group who finally got her own skivvy.
- Lucia Field (Blue): Yes, Anthony’s daughter. It’s a family business, after all.
Why the Cast Expanded So Suddenly
People get grumpy about change. You’ll see it in the Facebook comments or on Reddit threads where nostalgic parents complain that the show is "too busy" now. But there’s a strategic reason for the current cast of The Wiggles TV show.
The brand was looking to evolve.
The original lineup was four white guys from Sydney. They were great, but the world is bigger than that. By adding performers like Tsehay, Evie, and John, the show finally started to look like the audience watching it. From a production standpoint, it also makes sense. If one Wiggle gets sick or wants to take a break to have a kid (like Caterina Mete recently did), the show doesn't have to grind to a halt. There is a deep bench of talent ready to step in.
It’s also about the "Wiggle Town" universe. The TV show now features a recurring cast of secondary characters who are almost as famous as the leads. Captain Feathersword (Paul Paddick) has been there almost as long as Anthony. Then you have Dorothy the Dinosaur, Wags the Dog, and Henry the Octopus. These aren't just mascots; they are full-blown cast members with their own storylines and musical numbers.
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The "Old Wiggles" vs. The "New Wiggles"
There is a weird tension between the generations. If you grew up with Greg Page (the original Yellow Wiggle), seeing someone else in that shirt feels wrong. Greg was the voice of the band. When he had to retire due to orthostatic intolerance (a condition that made him faint on stage), it was the end of an era.
The show survived because it’s a format, not just a band.
Think of it like Doctor Who or Saturday Night Live. The roles are bigger than the actors. The cast of The Wiggles TV show is designed to be evergreen. When Greg, Murray, and Jeff officially retired in 2012, they stayed on as consultants and shareholders. They didn't just vanish. They’re the "owners" of the brand, making sure the new kids don't mess up the legacy.
Interestingly, the "Old Wiggles" have been doing reunion tours for adults lately. It’s wild. You have 25-year-olds in beer gardens singing "Fruit Salad" at the top of their lungs while holding a pint. It proves that the cast—no matter who is in the shirts—creates a lifelong bond with the audience.
Behind the Scenes: It’s Not All Finger Guns
Being in the cast of The Wiggles TV show is an athletic feat. People underestimate it. You aren't just singing; you are doing high-intensity cardio for 60 minutes straight under hot studio lights or in front of 10,000 screaming toddlers.
Simon Pryce has mentioned in interviews that he hits the gym specifically to keep up with the stamina required for the show. You can't be "off" for a second. If you look tired, the kids lose interest. The casting process isn't just about who can sing "Hot Potato." It’s about who has that specific, unflagging "Wiggle energy."
- The Audition Process: It’s notoriously grueling. They look for musicality, dance ability, and—most importantly—a lack of ego. You have to be okay with being upstaged by a person in a dog suit.
- The Filming Schedule: They produce a staggering amount of content. Between the main TV series, the YouTube clips, the nursery rhyme specials, and the social media content, the cast is in the studio almost year-round when they aren't touring.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Cast
The biggest misconception is that they are "just actors."
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Almost everyone in the cast of The Wiggles TV show is a legitimate musician or educator. Anthony Field has a degree in early childhood education from Macquarie University. That’s the "secret sauce." The songs aren't just catchy; they are designed based on how children’s brains process rhythm and repetition.
When a new member joins, they don't just learn the dances. They have to understand the philosophy. There’s a reason Wiggles songs often use "call and response" or simple hand gestures. It’s pedagogical.
Another myth? That they’re all secretly millionaires. While the brand makes a fortune, the performers (especially the newer ones) are often on standard performance contracts. Anthony is the one with the equity. The others are incredibly hard-working professionals who happen to have the most famous "uniform" in Australia.
The Future of the Show
Where does the cast go from here?
We are already seeing the next generation literally being born into it. As mentioned, Anthony’s daughter Lucia is now a Blue Wiggle. It’s becoming a multi-generational legacy. We might reach a point where the cast of The Wiggles TV show has three different people for every color, allowing them to perform in three different countries simultaneously.
The "Wiggle-verse" is expanding. They’ve recently leaned harder into digital platforms, realizing that YouTube is where their audience actually lives. The cast now has to be social media savvy, filming TikToks and behind-the-scenes reels to keep parents engaged while the kids watch the main episodes.
Action Steps for Parents and Fans
If you’re trying to keep up with the current era of the show, don't just stick to the old DVDs. The new cast brings a level of musical diversity that’s actually pretty impressive for "kids' music."
- Check out the "Fruit Salad TV" specials. This is where the expanded cast really shines and you can see the chemistry between the eight core members.
- Follow the individual Wiggles on social media. Tsehay and John, in particular, post a lot of the "making of" content that shows the sheer amount of work that goes into the choreography.
- Look for the "Wiggles Sound System" albums. If you’re a parent who is tired of the standard versions of the songs, the cast recently did some EDM-style remixes that are surprisingly tolerable (and even kind of good).
- Watch the "Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles" documentary. If you want to understand the transition from the old cast to the new one, this is the best resource. It shows the heartbreak of the original members leaving and the pressure the new cast felt taking over.
The cast of The Wiggles TV show will continue to change. That’s the nature of a show that’s been on the air for over thirty years. But the core mission—getting kids to stand up, dance, and learn something along the way—doesn't seem to be going anywhere, regardless of who is wearing the yellow skivvy.