The fruit salad bowl is getting a little bigger!
The Wiggles are developing a new series that celebrates and embraces diversity and inclusiveness. Fruit Salad TV will feature singing, dancing, storytelling, and The Wiggles’ catchy music. In addition to the new show, The Wiggles are expanding their cast to include four diverse and talented new members!
New members Blue Wiggle Evie, Yellow Wiggle Kelly, Purple Wiggle John, and Red Wiggle Tsehay will join current members Blue Wiggle Anthony, Yellow Wiggle Emma, Purple Wiggle Lachy, and Red Wiggle Simon. Tsheay Hawkins is an award-winning dancer of Ethiopian descent, ballet dancer Evie Ferries is a Taribelang woman and only the second First Nations woman to have joined The Australian Ballet, John Peace is of Filipino descent and part of the Australian music group Justice Crew, and Kelly Hamilton is of Chinese/Australian descent and has previously been featured on other kids’ shows.
The fun doesn’t stop there! The Wiggles are expanding their characters in Wiggle Town to include three new non-binary characters. Officer Beaples is a dancing police officer with a big smile and a painted-on moustache, Shirley Shawn the unicorn likes to eat apples and drive around Wiggle Town in a red, mini-car, and Bok the hand puppet is shy and displays emotions that kids can empathize with.
Created by founding member Anthony Fields, Fruit Salad TV is in line with The Wiggles’ goal to entertain, educate, and engage kids, while also evolving with today’s pluralistic society. Professor Michael McDaniel — the pro-vice-chancellor of Indigenous Leadership and Engagement at the University of Technology Sydney — acted as an advisor on the show.
Fruit Salad TV premieres on The Wiggles’ YouTube channel on Sept. 4. We can’t wait to sing and say hello to all our new Wiggle friends!
