All You Need Is Love

Emma Watkins, the Yellow Wiggle, speaks with Ruth Hessey about the secret weapon in her recovery from acute endometriosis – her mother, Kathryn.

- Ruth Hessey

Boxes of handmade bows and cards seem a world away from the glamorous young redhead reclining on a carpet of gold leaves in the grounds of Hopewood House, a grand country estate in NSW, Australia. Around her, winter has turned the trees to amber and burgundy – her favourite colours. But the handmade tributes of her fans are never far from Emma Watkins’ mind, even on a photo shoot. While The Australian Women’s Weekly team debates gowns, accessories and the background potential of some nearby ruins, new gifts from around the world pour into the warehouse at The Wiggles’ headquarters in Sydney, awaiting Emma’s attention. She is meticulous about cataloguing every bow, while other items are carefully packed and sent to the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, to add to its collection of Wiggle-o-philia. Being the Yellow Wiggle, and a role model to hundreds of thousands of preschoolers, is a responsibility that Emma takes very seriously.

“Because the children go to such a big effort to make these things – not just the yellow bows, but all sorts of things they think I will like, from music boxes to pictures of goats – I write back to every single one of them,” she says, as the newest addition to her family, a fluffy black kitten, does clumsy somersaults across her lap. “It’s a big deal inspiring children like this.”

Looking suddenly pale, Emma disappears for half an hour but returns with an incandescent smile. It’s less than a year since she underwent surgery for acute endometriosis and despite her determination to get back out there, recovery is ongoing.

The designer clothes put away and the photography crew departed, Emma’s mother, Kathryn, takes the kitten and returns with hot soup. Lady K (as Emma calls her mum), has clearly been key in replenishing Emma’s astonishing energy.