Emma Watkins certainly hasn’t rested on her laurels since leaving the Wiggles.
The children’s entertainer, who became the first Wiggle woman in 2013, hung up her iconic yellow underwear in 2021, passing the baton to Tsehay Hawkins.
And Emma, 35, who has conquered many creative mountains since leaving the legendary children’s group, has now launched a new project with Audible.
The project – A dream for every night – watch Emma narrate 40 short bedtime stories, written by Melbourne author Angela Casabene, that are designed to help children make the transition from playtime to bedtime.
“It’s very exciting,” Emma told Daily Mail Australia.
“I mean, it’s wonderful to be able to try new projects, and so this project is pretty special to me personally, but I’m really excited to share it with families across the country.”
“When we perform for kids and when we create content for kids, if it’s light-hearted and adventurous, we all win.”
The audiobook is just one of the many creative endeavors Emma has embarked on since leaving the Wiggles.
Emma Watkins (pictured) certainly hasn’t rested on her laurels since leaving the Wiggles. The children’s entertainer, who became the first Wiggle woman in 2013, hung up her iconic yellow underwear in 2021, passing the baton to Tsehay Hawkins.
She debuted her own children’s entertainment character Emma Memma in 2022, winning an ARIA for Best Children’s Album in 2023.
The character was designed to incorporate elements of song, dance and sign language, which is intrinsic to Emma’s recently completed PhD at Macquarie University, which explores the artistic integrations of sign language and dance for children’s screen media.
Emma has also stepped away from the children’s entertainment space to appear in films such as The Masked Singer, The Amazing Race Australia, Lego Masters Australia and the ABC series Teenage Boss: Next Level.
Her turn on the 2023 season of The Amazing Race, competing alongside her sister Hayley, earned Emma an equal first place alongside former Voce host Darren McMullen and singer Alli Simpson’s teams.
She also married her husband Oliver Brian in 2022.
Emma, 35, who has conquered many creative mountains since leaving the legendary children’s group, has launched a new project with Audible
And Emma told Daily Mail Australia she’s never had more creative flexibility since leaving the Wiggles, given the iconic ensemble’s rigorous touring schedule.
“Oh, I feel like it’s been a very interesting three years where I have a lot more flexibility and I’ve been able to do a lot of different projects that I didn’t really have the opportunity to do before because we were so busy touring.” “she said.
‘I-I think about the last three years. Sometimes I’m a little surprised when I think about what we’ve done.
‘It was just a dream. “Honestly, the last three years have been really special.”
Emma added that her busy post-Wiggles schedule means she doesn’t have time to catch up with her old bandmates, including her ex-husband Lachlan Gillespie.
She also married her husband Oliver Brian (both pictured in May) in 2022 after separating from her first husband, Lachlan Gillespie, in 2018 following two marriage breakdowns.
Emma and Lachlan separated in 2018 after two marriage breakdowns.
“To be honest, I don’t see them often,” she said. ‘Most of the time we catch up at the Logies or the ARIAs.
‘It’s one of those events that brings people together. I saw Lachie at Logies and we finally said, “Hey, how’s your mom?”
‘It’s something I look forward to more at those types of events. It’s nice to have those moments to be together. ‘
And the schedule isn’t likely to slow down, as Emma reveals that 2025 would be Emma Memma’s biggest touring year yet, as she and her co-collaborator husband continue to incorporate their PhD work into the stage show of the character.
“(Married life) is beautiful, it’s wonderful,” he said. ‘We work on Emma Memma every day and Ollie writes all the new music.
In the project, A Dream For Every Night, Emma narrates 40 short bedtime stories, written by Melbourne author Angela Casabene.
‘Ollie and I have been so focused on working on these new processes and new avenues for writing music, which really adapts to visual language to specifically include sign language.
“I think we’ve worked very hard not only on the project itself and on Emma Memma in our live show, but also on the research and I think that’s paying off.” And we are receiving many beautiful comments.”
However, Emma teased that she would like to reprise her hosting role in the 2024 ABC series Teenage Boss: Next Level, a reality show that follows teenagers who are in control of their family’s finances.
“I think what I liked most was that I spent four months in Adelaide filming that series with different Adelaide families who let us into their homes,” he said.
“Personally I’d love to do it again but if they do it again… we’ll have to ask the ABC.”