Wiggles in father-daughter double act as blue skivvy goes next gen

Announcing his 18-year-old daughter Lucia as the next Blue Wiggle is a full circle moment for original member, Anthony Field. And even though Lucia has been dancing since she could walk and grown up with the Wiggles, it was actually “Al the sound guy” who suggested she continue her proud dad’s legacy*.

“When we were after another Blue Wiggle it wasn’t me that suggested it – it was our sound man Al who said, ‘You know that Lucia sings’ – and I said I never knew that,” Field said.

“Honestly, I’d never heard her sing, but she was coming in and doing backing vocals and Al said she’s got a great voice – and I went ‘okay’.

“I didn’t even think she would want to do it – so I asked her ‘would you like to be the other Blue Wiggle – there’s no pressure at all’.

“It absolutely caught me by surprise because I’ve never ever pushed the children into the Wiggles – my daughter Maria outright says, ‘You’ll never see me as a singer or actor – I don’t want to do it’,” he laughed.

Lucia, who lives back at the family home after three years boarding* with the Australian Ballet School, said she was excited to join the iconic* group.

“To be fully honest, I’ve never even thought about doing this,” she said.

“It definitely caught me by surprise – but I’ve always wanted to perform.

“That’s definitely something that has been instilled* within me from when I was maybe four.

“I’m very glad it did happen, but I definitely couldn’t have seen it in my future.”

Lucia will join her dad and fellow Wiggles Lachlan Gillespie, Simon Pryce, John Pearce and Tsehay Hawkins on the road for upcoming tours – and father and daughter say that spending so much time together is making up for lost time with Lucia having spent three years away.

And the pair both wearing blue doesn’t mean Lucia is replacing her dad – but as the 59-year-old admits, he can’t perform forever.

“As for the future, well, I’m still really loving it – but of course, I can’t go on forever,” he said.

Lucia has grown very close to 16-year-old Tsehay who is close to her age – and she admits to being quite starstruck* when first meeting Justice Crew’s John Pearce.

“That was totally surreal* – the first time he walked into the studio, I couldn’t even say anything – I was like oh my god, your music was my favourite when I was younger,” Lucia said.

“We all have so much fun together – it definitely makes touring life that much easier.”

Her famous father is no stranger to touring with family, his own father touring with him and the Wiggles in the group’s infancy.

“I’m really so happy with the steps that we’ve taken to be inclusive* and to be gender* balanced, so we’ve now got four women and four men,” Field said.

“I think they are all inspiring children – and that’s what it’s about, empowering* children.

“I really feel good about that, because there’s a fresh world in The Wiggles.

“We’ve got Johnny from Justice Crew bringing in new energy, everybody’s got their own talents, so it’s been a great year and it’s going to be a wonderful next couple of years.

“We’ve got an eight seater big red car with eight seatbelts, which is unbelievable.”

GLOSSARY

• legacy: something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past
• boarding: when some or all students live at a school or institution during the school term
• iconic: very famous or popular, considered to represent particular place, event or time
• instilled: putting feeling, idea, or principle gradually into someone’s mind
• starstruck: feeling huge respect for famous or important people like actors and performers
• surreal: strange, not seeming real, like a dream
• inclusive: open to everyone, not limited to certain people
• gender: the male or female sex, or the state of being either male or female
• empowering: something that makes you feel more confident, powerful, in control

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QUICK QUIZ

1. Who suggested Lucia when they were looking for a Blue Wiggle?
2. Where has Lucia been living for the past three years?
3. Who in the Wiggles has Lucia grown very close to already?
4. Lucia felt starstruck meeting which performer?
5. How many seats are in the iconic big red car?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Why do little kids love the Wiggles?
Why do you think the Wiggles are so popular with young children? Create a mind-map or brainstorm all of the things that make the Wiggles attractive and fun for little kids.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

2. Extension
Write a story that starts or ends with the sentence, “That was totally surreal.”

Time: allow 30 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English

VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article, or for the interview.

Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.

Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.