Parents, children left devastated after Emma Watkins quit The Wiggles

It’s been a sad week for Wiggles fans after Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins hung up her skivvy and announced she was leaving the popular children’s band.

The 32-year-old entertainer, who had been part of the group for 11 years, revealed she wanted to instead focus on her family and finishing her PhD in filmmaking.

Shattered fans, mainly parents of young children, have since flocked to social media to pay tribute to the first-ever female Wiggle.

End of an era: It’s been a sad week for Wiggles fans after Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins hung up her skivvy and announced she was leaving the popular children’s band

‘My son is going to be heartbroken to not see you at Wiggles show next year! Thank you for bringing so much joy into little people’s lives. We wish you the absolute best with your next venture,’ one fan wrote on Instagram.

‘Sad to see Emma go but understand the reasons why. Thank you for being my daughter’s favourite Wiggle,’ another said.

One fan said Emma had ‘brought so much joy into this world’ through her character.

‘Thank you for being my daughter’s favourite Wiggle’: Tributes has since flown in for the Emma on social media from shattered fans who adored the highly popular female wiggle

Another spoke of her publicised battle with endometriosis, saying, ‘Emma you are such an inspiration to girls of all ages. And you are an amazing voice for the Endo community. I wish you nothing but happiness.’

Blue wiggle Anthony Field also wrote a special tribute to his former colleague.

‘We’ve had an amazing time with Emma over this period and while we’re sad to see her go, we know she has many other passions she’d like to pursue, including her PhD and work with the Deaf community,’ he said.             

From the veteran wiggle: Blue wiggle Anthony Field wrote a special tribute to his former colleague, saying, ‘We’ve had an amazing time with Emma over this period and while we’re sad to see her go, we know she has many other passions she’d like to pursue’

Watkins has since been replaced by 16-year-old Tsehay Hawkins.

Hawkins was introduced as part of a new group of Wiggles joining the current members.

The new group features new purple wiggle John Pearce, 28, blue wiggle Evie Ferris, 24, and Kelly Hamilton, who first appeared as the yellow wiggle with Emma but has since been switched with Hawkins. 

New rising star: Watkins has since been replaced by 16-year-old Tsehay Hawkins. Hawkins was introduced as part of a new group of Wiggles joining the current members

Emma said in a statement: ‘After 11 years of performing with The Wiggles, and nine of those as the Yellow Wiggle, the time has come for me to pass the yellow skivvy on.

‘Like many people around the world, the pandemic has given me time to reflect on what is important in life.

‘For me, that means spending more time at home, something that I didn’t realise I was missing out on being away eight months of the year on tour, but something that I have really cherished over the last 18 months.’

She continued: ‘I am also really looking forward to devoting more time and energy on completing my PhD that incorporates my ongoing passion for sign language, dance and film editing, and to having more time to work with the deaf community.’

‘The time has come for me to pass the yellow skivvy on’: Emma has released a statement explaining that she will be leaving to focus on her PHD studies, work with the deaf community and spending more time at home