Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
ABC News
ABC News
National

The Wiggles announce new 'gender balanced and diverse' cast members for YouTube series

The Wiggles new cast members Tsehay Hawkins, Kelly Hamilton, John Pearce and Evie Ferris. (Supplied: The Wiggles)

The Big Red Car just got a bit crowded with twice as many Wiggles on board.

The Australian children's band has expanded its line up to eight Wiggles as part of its new YouTube series Fruit Salad TV.

The Wiggles said they were "seeking to inspire a diverse audience with its gender-balanced and diverse cast" and make sure children around the world "see themselves reflected on the screen".

There are four new cast members, one for each Wiggle colour, including three women, two of whom wear pants.

Tsehay Hawkins, 15, is the second red Wiggle. Hawkins was born in Ethiopia and adopted by an Australian family. She is a Latin dance champion.

Evie Ferris, a corps de ballet dancer with the Australian Ballet, is the second blue Wiggle and wears blue ballet shoes.

Ferris, 24, is an Indigenous Australian and first performed with the Wiggles for their song We're All Fruit Salad earlier this year.

Kelly Hamilton, 45, is the second yellow Wiggle alongside the band's first female member Emma.

Hamilton is a Chinese-Australian and will ride her skateboard around Wiggle Town.

The fourth new cast member is second purple Wiggle John Pearce, 30, a former member of the music group Justice Crew.

Hawkins, Ferris, Hamilton and Pearce join the current Wiggles: Lachlan Gillespie (purple), Simon Pryce, (red), Emma Watkins (yellow) and Anthony Field (blue).

Field, 58, is the only remaining original Wiggle — the band formed in 1991.

Fruit Salad TV will debut on September 4 on YouTube and be available worldwide.

The Australian children's band has expanded its line up to eight Wiggles. (Supplied: The Wiggles)
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.