The Wiggles were 'lost' when Emma Watkins left, but it paved the way for a future Anthony Field had dreamed of

Blue Wiggle Anthony Field wasn't surprised when adding a woman – then-newcomer Emma Watkins – to the Wiggles lineup was met with pushback. 

But he was surprised when she told him she was leaving "somewhat out of the blue" almost a decade later.

"We were all a little bit lost," he tells 9honey Celebrity candidly.

READ MORE: Three words that left Anthony Field speechless on national TV

Anthony Field, Lachie Gillespie and Simon Pryce were "all a little bit lost" when Emma Watkins said she was leaving. (WireImage)

Reflecting on Watkins' exit in his new memoir Out Of The Blue, Field writes: "It was a shock to lose Emma. I had no contingency plan to replace her."

Watkins first joined the Wiggles in 2012, when she took over the yellow skivvy from Greg Page and became the band's first female member.

"Bringing a woman into the group, we got a lot of flack about that," he says.

"And the surprising thing on social media was that it was other women who were very critical … but Emma was such a talent and it worked out really, really well."

Watkins first joined the Wiggles in 2012 and was a huge hit among fans, especially little girls. (Instagram)

Field, who had been keen to diversify the cast lineup for years, knew it was powerful to have a female member little girls could look up to, and he was proven right when Watkins became one of the band's most popular members in a matter of years.

It was so special seeing Wiggles fans embrace Watkins with open arms and Field was thrilled to see his dream of a more diverse cast come to fruition.

Though he was "shocked" when she suddenly told him she was leaving to pursue a PhD in 2021, Watkins' exit gave paved the way for an even more inclusive future Field had been dreaming of.

"The Wiggles has never been about one person, so I knew we would be alright. It was the same when Greg left, I knew we'd be fine," Field says.

So he picked up the phone and called then-16-year-old Tsehay Hawkins, who was then a member of the extended cast.

Not long after, Hawkins picked up the yellow skivvy from Watkins and became the first woman of colour in the main lineup.

"It's always hard when such talented people leave, but we came up with Tsehay and ... it's been great," Field says.

The Wiggles' modern lineup, including Anthony Field (left) and the first woman of colour in the main cast Tsehay Hawkins (right). (Supplied: The Wiggles)

Three years on he has nothing but praise for Watkins, who has gone on to complete her PhD, find solo success as Emma Memma, and work closely with many charitable organisations.

Field understands the appeal of a career change, having made the massive leap from the Australian Army to early childhood education in 1986.

He enlisted as a young man and served for three years before discharging in 1985, after which he planned to join the police force. Instead, he stumbled upon a new passion.

"By total accident, I dropped my sister off to do a test to get into Macquarie University's Institute of Early Childhood Learning," Field recalls. 

"And I was just waiting around and said, 'I might just do this test as well.'"

Looking back on that defining moment in Out Of The Blue, he wrote: "I almost immediately became enamoured with the idea of preschool teaching … something just clicked."

He landed a spot at Macquarie University by "total accident" but decades on, Field is certain that it was meant to be — after all, that's where the Wiggles was born.

The original Wiggles lineup pose together in 2005, by which time they'd been performing together for years. (Matt King/Getty)

After making the switch, he caught up with some old army who couldn't believe how much 'Soldier Field' was doing for work.

"All my mates were just like, 'what the hell are you doing?'" he laughs.

Once the shock wore off, they were totally supportive. In fact, Field is still close with many of today and he's endlessly grateful for those three years in the military.

"I wouldn't trade that time in the army for anything," he says.

"It really helped me so much with everything, from discipline, getting stuff squared away, to work and team effort, all that sort of stuff. I learned a lot of great things."

Anthony Field's 2024 memoir 'Out Of The Blue'. (Allen and Unwin)

Out of the Blue is out today in all bookstores. You can see The Wiggles at Wiggle and Learn BIG SHOW will be touring Australia from November 9! Tickets on sale now atwww.thewiggles.com.au/bigshow

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