The Wiggles star Tsehay Hawkins was given some important advice from previous yellow wiggle Emma Watkins.

Video transcript

TSEHAY HAWKINS: Yes, she did. Actually, the night before it was announced, she just called me up and was saying, I'm so happy for you. It's such an amazing opportunity. Just take everything as it comes, and yeah-- basically say yes and just be open to new ideas. Yeah, she said she's always there to talk because she obviously went through the [? chain ?] with Wiggles. So she's been through it before. So yeah, she gave me a little pep talk leading up to the big announcement, which is--

Oh, we see each other's stuff online, and like, like and stuff like that. Basically what most people would do is just-- basically through social media, just see what other people are doing and congratulate them, yeah.

If you told me a year ago that I was going to be a Wiggle, I wouldn't believe you. So I think the Wiggles is definitely a long road, and I love it. It's the most amazing group, and just see where everything takes me.

I guess we add just our flair because we come as-- in The Wiggles, we are ourselves, we're not a different character name, like my name means the sun, so I originally just had a flower headband. I didn't wear sunflowers. And now, that's my new thing. So it's like obviously things like that, but also like, I am Ethiopian and I do salsa, and I do hip hop, and I've got a really big dance background. So I can incorporate that in my dance moves. I do shuffle dancing. And John, who was like the [INAUDIBLE], he's now a purple Wiggle, and he always does breakdancing and rapping in it. So we definitely get to contribute our ideas, and I guess put our passions into the Wiggly World.

It was super cool. He'd actually been, I think, doing a bunch of promos that entire day. So he came in, and he was wearing the yellow [? skimmy ?] on the Zoom, and I was like, Oh my gosh. I'm matching with Steve Carell, like, this is the coolest moment ever. And he did. He talked to Anthony and was saying like, how him and his wife were looking through like Wiggles stuff before this, and how they remembered some of the OG songs. And he really knew his stuff about The Wiggles, which is really cool. And yeah, he congratulated me and said congrats on the new role. It's such a wonderful opportunity, I was like, Oh my god. The dude from "The Office" [INAUDIBLE] and this is so cool. So it was really lovely, and yeah never would have guessed I'd be doing a Wiggly skit about the new "Despicable Me" with Steve Carell. Super sick.

Oh gosh, that could go on forever. I mean Beyonce's always up at the top, like she's a queen. And like, Zendaya and Emma Watson, Millie Bobby Brown-- all these beautiful, strong women but I'm just-- it's been a bliss, so far, being a Wiggle like meeting Kid Laroi, and performing on stage with him, then Steve Carell, and then like with the OGs and meeting Robert Owen. So many things have happened in like less than a year as a Wiggle. So I'm prepared for everything that keeps coming our way. We might even be meeting a Lil Nas. So that's really sick.

[CHUCKLES]