New Wiggle's yellow, but don't call her mellow

Emma Watkins has literally grown up with "The Wiggles."

"I'm 23, and the Wiggles are 23 this year, so I'm the perfect Wiggle generation," Watkins says.

It's fitting, then, that Watkins was selected last year as the first female Wiggle. She'd previously worked with the Australian kiddie group as a dancer and various characters.

"I just wanted to be a ballerina. I danced through my whole school life," she says. "One of their concerts that they filmed in Sydney way back when, they cross over to the audience; my sister and I are dancing in matching dresses. It's so bizarre to think that this has all come back now."

Watkins quickly endeared herself to fans as the Yellow Wiggle, complete with flared skirt and oversized hair bow. The group's new series, "Ready, Steady, Wiggle," airs weekdays on Sprout, and a Halloween DVD was released this month.

Q: Did the idea of becoming a Wiggle ever cross your mind?

A: Absolutely not, and I think that's what's so amazing about it. It didn't even occur to me when I was working for the Wiggles as a dancer. When I was asked, I still didn't know that was coming. It was so bizarre, but it was just so lovely.

Q: Do you feel a special responsibility as the first female Wiggle?

A: We've seen so many children arrive at the show, particularly the girls, dressed exactly like me. We have children who make their own bows, and they're bigger than their heads. Or they've given me bows for presents. (She now has 500.) It's a really nice change for the Wiggles in general. I guess it is a milestone. Dorothy (the Dinosaur) has done a pretty good job over the last 23 years with the female side of things.

Q: How much yellow was in your wardrobe pre-Wiggles?

A: I remember my mom saying that she painted the baby room when she was expecting me yellow (for) a boy or a girl. My school uniform in Australia was yellow. I feel like I've been wearing yellow for ages. We have sporting houses, and all the houses are different colors. At both my schools, I was in the yellow sports houses. That's just really weird. And for ballet exams, you have to wear a particular ribbon color depending on your height. I was always yellow.

Q: What's your favorite non-yellow color?

A: Obviously, I love pink. That's a very girly thing to say. Kylie Minogue was an honorary Wiggle, and she was pink, so I could never be pink. I would never take her color.

Q: What's the most non-Wiggles music in your personal collection?

A: I listen to a lot of Irish music. I really like music that's very dance-y. There's a band called Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. I'm obsessed with them. I think that's because my dad used to play it in the car. It's not technically Irish, but it's very folksy.