Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Something to Talk About, the Stella Podcast.
Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Lamarquin, to your host, and every week I
Speaker 1: sit down with some of the biggest names in the country,
Speaker 1: because when Australia's celebrities are ready to talk, they come
Speaker 1: to Something to Talk about. It's been three years since
Speaker 1: Emma Watkins left the Wiggles, an announcement that left children
Speaker 1: everywhere and their parents heartbroken, given Emma had made history
Speaker 1: in becoming the first female Wiggle back in twenty thirteen.
Speaker 1: But during her time touring the world as the Yellow Wiggle,
Speaker 1: Emma was also completing a PhD exploring creative ways of
Speaker 1: using sign language in children's dance and film. An idea
Speaker 1: was brewing, and even though she was worried about disappointing
Speaker 1: her young fans, she knew she had to back herself,
Speaker 1: and back herself she did. She's gone on to create
Speaker 1: a huge, hugually popular alter ego Emma and Memma. She's
Speaker 1: running a business alongside her husband of two years, Oliver,
Speaker 1: and she's the new host of a primetime television series
Speaker 1: soon to be seen on the ABC. And Emma joins
Speaker 1: me in the studio today to talk about well all
Speaker 1: of it. Emma Watkins, welcome to Stella and something.
Speaker 2: To talk about. Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2: It's nice to see you.
Speaker 1: It's loved to see you again. You have featured in
Speaker 1: Stella many times over the years. You said to Stella
Speaker 1: back in twenty nineteen, so five years ago, oh wow,
Speaker 1: I didn't think there would be such a phenomenon about
Speaker 1: being a girl Wiggle. I had a lot of backlash
Speaker 1: from original fans and teenagers who didn't want to let
Speaker 1: go of the fact that the Wiggles were all boys,
Speaker 1: and I knew where they were coming from. But for
Speaker 1: the children coming through now, this was obviously when you
Speaker 1: were still in the Wiggles, where the original Wiggles. I
Speaker 1: really wanted to ask you, Emma, about the first I
Speaker 1: know you've spoken about this before, of course, at the
Speaker 1: time when you became the first this quote Instella, when
Speaker 1: you were in the middle of it, when you decided
Speaker 1: to leave the Wiggles, and then of course speaking now,
Speaker 1: you know a few years later, where you're very much
Speaker 1: in a whole new chapter of your career. There wouldn't
Speaker 1: have been a Caterina, there wouldn't be a s High
Speaker 1: and Evie a la Chia without Emma Wiggle. Apparently half
Speaker 1: of the Wiggles now female, which is a huge change
Speaker 1: in the course of a decade. Tell me how that
Speaker 1: sits if you being the first, I just think it's wonderful.
Speaker 1: And I would have loved to have had the Spice
Speaker 1: Girls with me when I was there when I started.
Speaker 1: I know, I know.
Speaker 2: So I think it's actually lovely that people are embracing
Speaker 2: that change. And again now we can see that children
Speaker 2: enjoy their own version of The Wiggles and any show
Speaker 2: for that matter, and I guess it's a testament to
Speaker 2: the Wiggles story and legacy and music that keeps driving
Speaker 2: that for generations to come. So I feel very privileged
Speaker 2: to have been part of it. And again, I still
Speaker 2: I have to step back because I still don't know
Speaker 2: how it happened to me, because it wasn't something that
Speaker 2: I auditioned for. So I was picked because I was
Speaker 2: there already dancing for the group. And so I still
Speaker 2: feel very lucky.
Speaker 1: But well, I was about to say, but you weren't
Speaker 1: just lucky. I might refer to We had a recent
Speaker 1: episode with Tim mentioned where we spoke with Tim a
Speaker 1: lot about luck because he is like, you know that
Speaker 1: whole lucky's a big factor. So it is, and it's
Speaker 1: really important to acknowledge that luck in the good things
Speaker 1: and the bad things. So now I'm going to break
Speaker 1: my own rule and not contradict what I said, but
Speaker 1: I just think I wanted to say, without sounding like
Speaker 1: a cheerleader, that I would argue, as an observer of
Speaker 1: that cultural moment, that it happened and you became the
Speaker 1: first wiggle. But then the reaction to that was so
Speaker 1: overwhelmingly obvious that the fans were so ready for that
Speaker 1: moment that that's what set the way.
Speaker 2: I appreciate it, And it is something that you're right.
Speaker 2: I mean, obviously there was a part of it that
Speaker 2: was being in the right place at the right time
Speaker 2: and a beautiful group of people, and we just all
Speaker 2: happened to be there on the tour and working together,
Speaker 2: and so it obviously made sense. But certainly to get
Speaker 2: through those early years, you know, there's a lot of
Speaker 2: hard work and deep reflection on what the perception was
Speaker 2: for the group, and I think being able to reflect
Speaker 2: and step out and look and yeah, now when I
Speaker 2: look back, you think about all the choices that you
Speaker 2: made and what you thought was right at the time,
Speaker 2: and you know, it's just incredible to actually be able
Speaker 2: to look back on that now fifteen years ago.
Speaker 1: And what was so great was at the positive, overwhelming
Speaker 1: reaction from the audience globally, of course, because we all
Speaker 1: know that this entertainment in Australia, in children's entertainment, I mean,
Speaker 1: it's a massive global export, so it's not only domestic audiences.
Speaker 1: But as you were alluding to Istella, there was that
Speaker 1: little backlash at the start, because any first does also
Speaker 1: bring with it well why or you know, now we
Speaker 1: would say, oh, it's all gone woke. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't think that we were using the word woke when
Speaker 1: you became the first Wiggle in twenty thirteen, but whatever
Speaker 1: the equivalent was back then, so obviously it did have
Speaker 1: to also deal with a little bit of naysayism pressure.
Speaker 1: How did you cope with that at the time and
Speaker 1: what are your memories of that when you look back.
Speaker 2: Oh, that's a good question too. I feel that mostly
Speaker 2: I just didn't want to disappoint people, and we were
Speaker 2: very clear in our intention. We knew and you know,
Speaker 2: even from the Wiggles as a whole, as a company
Speaker 2: as a business. You know, it was important that we
Speaker 2: weren't going to be karaoke wiggles. You know, we weren't
Speaker 2: just going to step in place of you know, the
Speaker 2: ones before us, and you know those legends. Why would
Speaker 2: we even try and attempt to copy that. And so
Speaker 2: when you're paving your own way and you know you're
Speaker 2: doing things because of your experience and you're bringing your
Speaker 2: skills and your passion, that really then changed everything. And
Speaker 2: then I think people started to relax. They knew that
Speaker 2: we weren't going to take over their childhood memory.
Speaker 1: So true, then, of course you left in twenty twenty one,
Speaker 1: big decision. You just said then, Emmy, you didn't want
Speaker 1: to let anyone down. You didn't want to disappoint anyone.
Speaker 1: You were not only grappling with a huge decision there
Speaker 1: in terms of what it would mean for you in
Speaker 1: your career, your identity, your income. You were also i know,
Speaker 1: really conscious of the impact that it would have on
Speaker 1: your fans because of the importance that you know that
Speaker 1: of being a role model and being a presence in
Speaker 1: their life. That's a lot to take on. Tell me
Speaker 1: about what you learn about yourself backing yourself in that
Speaker 1: decision and coming out the other side of it, I.
Speaker 2: Feel that I now believe that I must have been
Speaker 2: fairly brave. But I don't know where that point was
Speaker 2: when I was ready to take that step, but I
Speaker 2: guess again, the intention was that through the last couple
Speaker 2: of years, I was parallel studying my PhD. So during
Speaker 2: that research it kind of opened my mind up to
Speaker 2: so many other things that I'd love to try. And
Speaker 2: potentially I'm well placed to be able to do this
Speaker 2: kind of work because of my love of dance and
Speaker 2: sign language, and that's essentially what my PhD was about,
Speaker 2: and I thought this is probably the time to do it.
Speaker 2: And in the pandemic, we weren't touring, and I just
Speaker 2: thought that maybe I wouldn't disappoint as many children. Even
Speaker 2: though I had left during that time, I still disappointed children.
Speaker 2: So I am sorry to all the children at the time.
Speaker 2: And it is amazing though now when I meet families
Speaker 2: and they might be especially with the children that might
Speaker 2: be a little bit older five or six, the parents
Speaker 2: will most likely say, we actually had a ticket to
Speaker 2: come and watch you in twenty one, and the pandemic happened,
Speaker 2: and so we were refunded, and then we were booked
Speaker 2: to see the next one, and then you weren't there.
Speaker 2: So now we're coming to watch you because this is
Speaker 2: our first time that we've been able to see you live.
Speaker 2: And that's a beautiful story too, and that story is
Speaker 2: still playing out.
Speaker 1: I mean, it is a beautiful story. And I'm sure
Speaker 1: a lot of people listening to you speak would have
Speaker 1: a lot of thoughts, myself included, which is, first of all,
Speaker 1: you think, oh, but you can't take all of that
Speaker 1: off you, oh you you, well, you can't go. But
Speaker 1: also for you making that decision you have to. But
Speaker 1: also it's that bravery is also role modeling something really powerful,
Speaker 1: even if people don't realize it at the time, because
Speaker 1: they're also seeing that you can go on and do
Speaker 1: other things which I want to ask you about and
Speaker 1: you have, and isn't that an amazing lesson to learn?
Speaker 1: Even if you are four or five and you don't
Speaker 1: quite understand that's what you're seeing, they will then look
Speaker 1: back and go wow, like that's and of course the
Speaker 1: same for the parents. So I do think bravery is
Speaker 1: the word, and I think that's also a really important
Speaker 1: thing to model.
Speaker 2: Well, I hope so I mean I wouldn't have thought
Speaker 2: it at the time, as in I didn't feel confident
Speaker 2: or brave at the time, but I knew that there
Speaker 2: was something inside and I really wanted to finish the research,
Speaker 2: and because we weren't touring, I had more time to
Speaker 2: do the research. So it was kind of coming to
Speaker 2: a point where, chatting with my supervisor, we felt that
Speaker 2: the research was important because then it would pave the
Speaker 2: way for new processes and pathways for children's entertainment from
Speaker 2: this point on. And so that's kind of where I thought, Okay,
Speaker 2: I probably need to make that decision now, and that's
Speaker 2: when I did.
Speaker 1: And so it might not have even happened without the pandemic,
Speaker 1: I know, strange sliding doors moment exactly.
Speaker 2: And I mean for me, you know, lots of people
Speaker 2: ask me, well, why sign language and why were you
Speaker 2: interested in? Why?
Speaker 1: Why?
Speaker 2: Why? And you know, I grew up with deaf friends,
Speaker 2: so sign language was always a part of my network.
Speaker 2: And unfortunately, because I was so busy during my time touring,
Speaker 2: I never got to do my Osland certificates because I
Speaker 2: wasn't present in class. But during the pandemic they changed
Speaker 2: the course to be online, So that also changed the
Speaker 2: trajectory of my study, and so I ended up doing
Speaker 2: my Osland certificates during COVID when we're at home, you know,
Speaker 2: trying to keep up with all of the things that
Speaker 2: we needed to you with the Wiggles, but also learning
Speaker 2: OSLENE on the side, and yeah, that journey has taken
Speaker 2: a whole pathway in itself.
Speaker 1: I wanted to ask you a little bit about the PhD.
Speaker 1: First of all, from a time management perspective. I mean,
Speaker 1: you started this while you were touring with the Wiggles
Speaker 1: and that's a crazy schedule. And then a PhD is
Speaker 1: a massive undertaking. And congratulations because so you officially now
Speaker 1: doctor m Watkins. I've been a bit casual with you.
Speaker 1: I'm saying, am I doctors congratulation? What an achievement.
Speaker 2: Thank you. And I think again, I think the PhD
Speaker 2: is a is a it's a big undertaking, but it
Speaker 2: is also once you've reached that point, you're like, Okay,
Speaker 2: that's now a milestone for then what we can do
Speaker 2: beyond this and how does that inform what we make
Speaker 2: from this point on? And again I think everything feeds
Speaker 2: into each other. But being able to perform and being
Speaker 2: able to be through the pain endemic and learning Osland
Speaker 2: then led us to be able to in this particular
Speaker 2: series in Teenage Boss, actually take on a family that
Speaker 2: us Osland as their primary language, and we were able
Speaker 2: to do that whole episode in Osland as in myself
Speaker 2: conversing directly with the teen and their family members in
Speaker 2: their primary language, which meant that it just felt more
Speaker 2: connected and that I could have that conversation myself instead
Speaker 2: of through somebody else. Yes, and let's talk about your
Speaker 2: new TV show on the ABC. It's called Teenage Boss
Speaker 2: Next Level and it's teaching teenagers about money. We're obviously
Speaker 2: in a cost of living crisis in Australia right now,
Speaker 2: so probably even more appropriate time than ever for something
Speaker 2: like this. Actually, when the show came about, I did
Speaker 2: actually think, in the context of the world, this is fantastic,
Speaker 2: not just for teenagers but for everyone. And filming across
Speaker 2: many months and actually meeting ten different families in Adelaide,
Speaker 2: so much of what we were sharing together I was
Speaker 2: actually learning for myself and for the parents within that
Speaker 2: family network. So I feel like this show is really
Speaker 2: going to reach so many people on so many different levels.
Speaker 1: Because the premise of the show is that a teenager
Speaker 1: assumes responsibility for their family's budget for an entire month.
Speaker 1: So it's a pretty big ask. So a little further
Speaker 1: to what you just said that it's a learning experience
Speaker 1: for everyone, for the teenagers, for their parents, maybe older
Speaker 1: siblings if there's older siblings in their twenties living at home,
Speaker 1: for you as the host, and then of course for
Speaker 1: us at home as the audience. I'd like to unpack
Speaker 1: that a little bit. I imagine there would be a
Speaker 1: little bit of a generational trope for some people that
Speaker 1: teenagers aren't necessarily going to have the understanding of how
Speaker 1: to budget. They are yet to understand the value of money,
Speaker 1: unlike their parents or a lot of adults that haven't
Speaker 1: necessarily had to work really hard to earn a living.
Speaker 1: We might think that they're a little more susceptible to
Speaker 1: impulse buying. I've got to say, I'm a few decades
Speaker 1: on from being a teenager, and I could learn a
Speaker 1: lot from teenagers. What about you, what did you think
Speaker 1: about that generational breakdown?
Speaker 2: Well, I've never seen parents look so scared, and there
Speaker 2: was a lot of anxiety about the parents handing over
Speaker 2: that responsibility. Yeah, and I think actually that tension between
Speaker 2: the parents and the teenagers was quite interesting because either
Speaker 2: the parents then relaxed because they knew that the teenager
Speaker 2: had it all under their control, or that tension continued
Speaker 2: out to play through the month. But really most of
Speaker 2: the teenagers hadn't taken on any of that kind of responsibility.
Speaker 2: Some of the teens had extra part time jobs, but
Speaker 2: some of that responsibility of having a job and actually
Speaker 2: earning money to bring into the budget was something that
Speaker 2: became quite high stakes. Then they needed to have that
Speaker 2: extra revenue to be able to survive for that month.
Speaker 2: And when the responsibility was for them to be in
Speaker 2: charge of the whole family instead of just themselves or
Speaker 2: just their own pocket money, then that meant that the
Speaker 2: responsibility did fall on them to take care of their family,
Speaker 2: including their siblings, which ended up mostly being younger siblings.
Speaker 1: Raising the age that's a teenager, well, the budget becomes high.
Speaker 1: You have to raise more revenue, and you can work
Speaker 1: as well because they're old enough to be getting jobs.
Speaker 1: But the stakes are potentially a little bit higher. I
Speaker 1: don't know if you agree this obviously in my opinion,
Speaker 1: but there can be a little bit of acute factor
Speaker 1: to the experiment when it's a younger child, because it's
Speaker 1: a bit more of a learning experience, which of course
Speaker 1: this is, but this is a bit more real world
Speaker 1: And I think, going back to the generational trope, teenagers
Speaker 1: tend to get a bit of a hard rap always have,
Speaker 1: I think, don't they?
Speaker 2: And I think actually meeting the ten teenage you know
Speaker 2: and their siblings, I was quite taken aback by their
Speaker 2: confidence and independence, not just with the challenge but in
Speaker 2: their own lives. I mean, most of them actually felt
Speaker 2: that they were confident to do the challenge, which was great.
Speaker 2: It's nice to see that they felt that they could
Speaker 2: approach this challenge in a way that they could be
Speaker 2: responsible for. But I was quite impressed.
Speaker 1: Do you think that there would be quite tangible takeaways
Speaker 1: that adults, whether it's the parents, quite literally, whose budget
Speaker 1: is at stake? Are we going to make the mortgage
Speaker 1: this week? Are we're going to be able to pay
Speaker 1: the rent? From someone watching at home that you might
Speaker 1: think I've seen how to manage budget, how to tackle
Speaker 1: finances through the lens of somebody coming at it with
Speaker 1: a whole new perspective.
Speaker 2: I think the great template of the show to actually
Speaker 2: provided the teenagers with a really easy spreadsheet, and I
Speaker 2: think being able to have a look at the spreadsheet
Speaker 2: as an overview for the month was particularly helpful for
Speaker 2: the teenos and myself and saying myself as in I
Speaker 2: felt like I was a viewer as well. I felt
Speaker 2: like I was part of the audience watching the teenagers
Speaker 2: over the period of the month actually facing the challenge.
Speaker 2: But I think interestingly, when they get the challenge, the teenagers,
Speaker 2: they instantly worry about things like the mortgage. But the
Speaker 2: great part of the show is that it's divided into
Speaker 2: fixed costs and then variable costs. So actually talking through
Speaker 2: the fixed costs which they don't even get to touch,
Speaker 2: like mortgage, school fees, that actually also alleviated tension for
Speaker 2: the teens. Yes, so they actually don't need to focus
Speaker 2: on those ones. But what they can do, and then
Speaker 2: what gives them a sense of independence is knowing what
Speaker 2: are the variable costs like gas, water, leisure, entertainment, food, groceries.
Speaker 2: When they realized that they were in control of that,
Speaker 2: you could see their perception switch and almost a bit
Speaker 2: of their character started to change because they realized that
Speaker 2: they were genuinely the boss Emma.
Speaker 1: For you, what is your relationship with money? You know,
Speaker 1: financial advisors as opposed to financial planners and people that
Speaker 1: more work as financial counselors and help people assess their
Speaker 1: relationship with money beyond the dollars and cents and the
Speaker 1: bank balance. But actually how we all think about it?
Speaker 1: They say everyone's got a money story. Is it something
Speaker 1: that you are interested in yourself? Have you been sensible
Speaker 1: with money or is it something that you have re
Speaker 1: evaluated your own relationship with it as you've progressed throughout
Speaker 1: your career and your life.
Speaker 2: I think that's a great question, and I think for me,
Speaker 2: my dad was a chartered accountant, So I think doing
Speaker 2: this show actually made me reflect on my relationship with
Speaker 2: my dad and thinking, wow, he put up with so
Speaker 2: much and I couldn't imagine my parents allowing me to
Speaker 2: do this challenge because I don't know if I would
Speaker 2: have been that responsible as a teenager. But I feel that,
Speaker 2: you know, through Dad, I've learned so much, but I
Speaker 2: still don't have that expertise in financial advising, and so
Speaker 2: my role in this show was definitely to be a
Speaker 2: support for the teen and actually be with them more
Speaker 2: at their level and actually work through some of the
Speaker 2: challenges that weren't always necessarily financial, but it might have
Speaker 2: been emotional or psychological pressures that if they took that
Speaker 2: money away from this person, or that pocket money from
Speaker 2: their sibling, what would that affect? And that was I
Speaker 2: think that stemmed really beautiful conversations about how they cared
Speaker 2: for their family.
Speaker 1: Absolutely, I wanted to ask Emma a little bit about
Speaker 1: working with the teenagers in the series, going back here
Speaker 1: to your profile, of course, you have first joined the
Speaker 1: Wiggles as a backup dancer and understudy in twenty ten,
Speaker 1: then you became a full time Wiggle in twenty thirteen. Obviously,
Speaker 1: want to ask a lit bit more about that in
Speaker 1: a moment, but just in terms of your timeline concurrent
Speaker 1: with the teenagers in the show, they would have been
Speaker 1: in the absolute heart of the demographic, you know, in
Speaker 1: those years when they would have been according to my calculations,
Speaker 1: I'm a journalist, so mass is not my strong point,
Speaker 1: but roughly between four and six, which is obviously very
Speaker 1: much in the core of part of the core Wiggle's demographic.
Speaker 1: How was it when they first met you? How many
Speaker 1: starstruck teenagers did you meet and how did your relationship
Speaker 1: evolve with them? From that initial oh my gosh, it's
Speaker 1: Emma mat it's Emma Wiggle through to Emma Watkins, the
Speaker 1: person that is alongside them for this experiment.
Speaker 2: I think that's probably one of the most interesting parts
Speaker 2: of the show, and I'm waiting to see what that
Speaker 2: looks like when it's edited, But certainly for myself, I
Speaker 2: found a lot of hilarious and shocked responses at the
Speaker 2: front door, not just from the teenagers, but definitely from
Speaker 2: the siblings and one of the families. One of the
Speaker 2: siblings she was very young, she was about five or six,
Speaker 2: and so she was very much into Emma Memma, So
Speaker 2: when I came to the door, she was like, where's
Speaker 2: your costume? Why is the show not starting right now?
Speaker 2: That definitely the nostalgic effect, I guess of me rocking
Speaker 2: up to the front door of these teenagers house was
Speaker 2: not just funny for them, but it was funny for
Speaker 2: me to see their reaction. And yes, our relationship did
Speaker 2: change over the month, because then even though I was
Speaker 2: trying to be supportive, we still had to be firm
Speaker 2: so that they understood the responsibility of the challenge, and
Speaker 2: I guess in a way some of the teenagers didn't
Speaker 2: want to disappoint me, and I really wanted them to succeed.
Speaker 2: So it was a fine balancing act of trying to
Speaker 2: be positive about their choices, but also trying to remind
Speaker 2: them of what that might mean for their family, and.
Speaker 1: Coming up what married life is like for Emma and
Speaker 1: her husband Oliver. Two years on, the character of Emma
Speaker 1: and Memma is very much incorporates these things that we've
Speaker 1: just spoken about Emma. I mean, it's a character that's
Speaker 1: very much dedicated to promoting inclusive entertainment for children and
Speaker 1: by extension, their families and the wider community. And of
Speaker 1: course Emma loves to dance, and you, yourself, Emma Watkins,
Speaker 1: are classically trained dancing. You've studied ballet, of course, which
Speaker 1: is a huge component of Emma Memma contemporary hip hop,
Speaker 1: Irish dancing. When did this character and what you might
Speaker 1: like to do start to take shape.
Speaker 2: Hm, that's a good question too. I feel like through
Speaker 2: the PhD, we needed a vehicle to be able to
Speaker 2: not test some of the findings, but presents and see
Speaker 2: what the reaction was. And Emma Memmer kind of came
Speaker 2: out of that, and someone actually said to me, I
Speaker 2: feel like Emma members an extension of yourself. It is
Speaker 2: very you, Emma, and I think now I feel like
Speaker 2: Emma Memor is so much a part of me, and
Speaker 2: it really does combine everything that I truly love. And
Speaker 2: being able to include sign language along the way is
Speaker 2: important because most of my friend circle I would do
Speaker 2: things in the past and then they would ask me,
Speaker 2: or what was that interview about? It didn't have captions
Speaker 2: or you weren't signing it, so I didn't know what
Speaker 2: that was about, and that always plays on my mind.
Speaker 2: And so now I really don't do any opportunities without
Speaker 2: some accessibility incorporated and making sure that, yeah, if my
Speaker 2: friend Elvin, who's profoundly deaf, wants to be part of
Speaker 2: this interview or wants to read this particular article, can
Speaker 2: he access it? And I think about that daily.
Speaker 1: Because one of the things I did want to ask
Speaker 1: you was how much of you is in the characters
Speaker 1: that you have portrayed? Obviously Emma Memo and then also
Speaker 1: before that, Emma Wiggle. But as your friends already observed,
Speaker 1: there's a lot of you in em A Memma, And
Speaker 1: I imagine then that will continue to evolve because as
Speaker 1: you're saying, you obviously, even as you were saying earlier
Speaker 1: you parents come up at the end of the show
Speaker 1: and say something, you're really taking that on board. I
Speaker 1: would imagine you see potentially this work and this character
Speaker 1: just continuing to evolve as you're seeing where could we
Speaker 1: go next, what needs necessarily aren't being met, What does
Speaker 1: the audience increasingly want from a pretty groundbreaking children's entertainer.
Speaker 2: I mean exactly, And I feel that the best thing
Speaker 2: about doing emm a Memo as well is that our
Speaker 2: team is so tiny that we are able to reflect
Speaker 2: on what we are doing in our content or live
Speaker 2: shows and change it very quickly if needed. And that
Speaker 2: feedback comes directly from the audience. So when I'm on
Speaker 2: stage and my husband who's our audio engineer, and he's
Speaker 2: at the back of the room, between he and I,
Speaker 2: we can kind of filter all the feedback because I
Speaker 2: see it from the front, and then he's hearing all
Speaker 2: the comments from the back and people genuinely, I don't know,
Speaker 2: it just feels like it's more more definitely with emm Amemma,
Speaker 2: they will go directly up to Ollie and give their
Speaker 2: feedback for the show, and that is just priceless because
Speaker 2: it actually then changes the way we do the show
Speaker 2: after the next hour. And those kinds of interactions have
Speaker 2: felt so genuine and we have loved having so much
Speaker 2: connection with our audience now, and that's why I think
Speaker 2: Emma Mema has evolved and grown so quickly over the
Speaker 2: last twelve months.
Speaker 1: A lot of children's entertainers carry that expectation is sometimes
Speaker 1: self impost sometimes it's actually a real world because the
Speaker 1: persona that they have is actually quite far removed from
Speaker 1: who they really are. And I don't mean that as
Speaker 1: a criticism, by the way. I mean that's fine, like
Speaker 1: you might go and play a certain character and nothing
Speaker 1: like that in real life. But as we're talking before
Speaker 1: with fan interactions, it's a unique, I think expectation when
Speaker 1: you are dealing in the really important and vital world
Speaker 1: of children's entertainment, because, unlike other fan interactions, we forgive
Speaker 1: and in fact expect that children are going to distinguish
Speaker 1: between the public persona and the real person. For you,
Speaker 1: as an outside observer, it seems like that disconnect probably
Speaker 1: might not even really exist, especially given what you've just
Speaker 1: talked about with Emma member and the close modeling, But
Speaker 1: have there been times where you've thought, if you are
Speaker 1: still out in public, do you have to watch yourself
Speaker 1: knowing that you know they've probably use a child watching
Speaker 1: and that you think, Okay, I just have to do
Speaker 1: something that I might necessarily be doing to carry yourself
Speaker 1: in a different way. You don't seem like somebody like
Speaker 1: me that would be dropping things, maybe letting all like
Speaker 1: a whole spring of expleet tears out, So you don't
Speaker 1: seem like somebody that would necessarily swear. But how does
Speaker 1: that expectation sit on you, if at all?
Speaker 2: I mean, I guess what you mentioned before, it doesn't
Speaker 2: really come into play in a weird way. But I
Speaker 2: think that's what is even more relaxing about Emmamemma, because
Speaker 2: it is more like my personality, and now that we're
Speaker 2: starting to experiment with comedic elements and having a bit
Speaker 2: more of a play and being more fun, that's probably
Speaker 2: how I am more so at home. So I feel
Speaker 2: that the expectation, of course is always for children and
Speaker 2: children first and foremost, But when I am out and about,
Speaker 2: it's mostly parents, and I get stopped by parents and
Speaker 2: grandparents and I and uncles and you know, being at
Speaker 2: the airport last night, I almost talked to the entire plane.
Speaker 1: But it could be exhausting, doesn't it.
Speaker 2: It is, but again, it's just a really great way
Speaker 2: of getting insight to the audience and knowing what people
Speaker 2: are connecting with. Are they coming to the show? Did
Speaker 2: they listen to the latest music? Did they see that
Speaker 2: particular article. People are so in tune, and more so
Speaker 2: now because the world's more connected. Somebody said to me
Speaker 2: this morning, oh, you're doing a new show, and I
Speaker 2: was like, wow, that's really good. Yes, teenage boss like,
Speaker 2: oh yeah, the teenagers. Are they dancing? No, they're not
Speaker 2: dancing necessarily, but you'll like the show. So it is
Speaker 2: important to remember that people are very perceptive and they
Speaker 2: have their own story and connection to Emma and being
Speaker 2: a part of family's households on broadcast TV for fifteen
Speaker 2: years is an important reminder. And that's something that I
Speaker 2: take really seriously.
Speaker 1: Got to ask you if any of the teenagers dance,
Speaker 1: So I'm glad to somebody.
Speaker 2: They ask you that, well, they yeah, exactly, and that
Speaker 2: they won't be disappointed because two of the teenagers actually
Speaker 2: seriously love dancing. One loves Irish dancing and one loves ballet.
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, so for me, okay, and this is
Speaker 2: why again leaving, you know, my amazing time with the
Speaker 2: Wiggles and then moving into m member. But now we
Speaker 2: just have so much more freedom to be able to
Speaker 2: try all these new projects. And I would never have
Speaker 2: had the opportunity to do Teenage Boss before. And it's
Speaker 2: just opened me up to so many different stories and
Speaker 2: adventures and people, and I feel truly invested and connected
Speaker 2: with the families we filmed.
Speaker 1: With a couple of questions before we finished up. You
Speaker 1: mentioned your husband, Ollie Oliver, who you married two years
Speaker 1: ago and you met when he was a backup musician
Speaker 1: in the Wiggles. And as you say, you've now working
Speaker 1: together and touring. How is that you know? Not a
Speaker 1: particularly original question, but probably because I imagine it is
Speaker 1: something everyone wants to know when you're working with your
Speaker 1: partner and you're traveling and touring and there he's there
Speaker 1: getting this great audience feedback. I mean, that's really valuable.
Speaker 1: As you say, tell me a little bit about all
Speaker 1: of that, because I know you're quite private. But two
Speaker 1: years into married life.
Speaker 2: It's just the best. But actually, interestingly, filming Teenage Boss
Speaker 2: was the only time that we weren't together, so we
Speaker 2: actually do work together on everything and really having our
Speaker 2: own business. Now. We do seventy percent on Emma Memma,
Speaker 2: and then thirty percent are other amazing projects like Teenage Boss.
Speaker 2: But also we tend to do a lot of work
Speaker 2: with deaf professionals, actually working together to create more awareness
Speaker 2: around deaf awareness and deaf community, and that is so
Speaker 2: much supported by Ollie. Even though his experience is incredibly
Speaker 2: in musical adventures, He's been such an integral part of
Speaker 2: the business. And yeah, we're so lucky to work together,
Speaker 2: to be honest, And so I would then go home
Speaker 2: and be like, this is what we filmed with Teenage Boss.
Speaker 2: You have to wait till you see it. So he's
Speaker 2: excited to see the series as well.
Speaker 1: So maybe the question more was how was it not worth?
Speaker 1: Why not father? For a period of time.
Speaker 2: It was weird I had to keep updating him, but
Speaker 2: I knew that he would be particularly inspired by the
Speaker 2: teenagers as well. I was talking about a lot of
Speaker 2: their confidence and just self assurance and independence and yet
Speaker 2: trying to reflect that on my own experience.
Speaker 1: You are only thirty four.
Speaker 2: Oh that's very nice. It's nearly my birthday.
Speaker 1: So are we going to round up to thirty fo
Speaker 1: go for it. I mean, that's still pretty I've got
Speaker 1: to tell you. But you have achieved an awful lot
Speaker 1: in that time, and especially I think because you have
Speaker 1: been visible for really since quite a young age. So
Speaker 1: that's the other thing is that often we are discovering
Speaker 1: people at this age, especially now you know where people
Speaker 1: are starting new careers in their thirties. But you're somebody
Speaker 1: that was so young when you were first catapulted into
Speaker 1: the spotlight and in a really big way under a
Speaker 1: big yellow spotlight. What do you think any with this
Speaker 1: new TV show? You clearly, as we've talked about with MMMA,
Speaker 1: constantly evolving and growing and seeing new opportunities, and you
Speaker 1: and your husband working on different projects. Do you have
Speaker 1: a little bit of a crystal ball what the next
Speaker 1: chapter might be in the next ten twenty years.
Speaker 2: I wish I could be really planned, but to be honest,
Speaker 2: the opportunities that come to us I could never have
Speaker 2: dreamt of, and I didn't know I would do Teenage
Speaker 2: Boss and things like Lego Masters and the Amazing Race.
Speaker 2: I never would have imagined that I'd ever have the
Speaker 2: opportunity to do them, or that there would be any
Speaker 2: interest for me to do those kinds of things. And
Speaker 2: so we kind of hop from one thing to the
Speaker 2: next because we take the opportunity where it happens. But
Speaker 2: it does feel like the best is yet to come.
Speaker 2: It feels like we're at the start of a whole
Speaker 2: new chapter. And actually, talking with an amazing filmmaker in
Speaker 2: Victoria yesterday, he mentioned that it really is about looking
Speaker 2: at all the different ways being an artist, all the
Speaker 2: different platforms that you might want to bring your experience
Speaker 2: to or share your story, and how can you best
Speaker 2: use those platforms to share something that's uniquely you. And
Speaker 2: I was like, that's a great way to look at it,
Speaker 2: because sometimes there is no particular plan, and we know
Speaker 2: with such an ever changing world, I don't know what's
Speaker 2: going to happen. But I am constantly surprised by the
Speaker 2: things that come our way and the way that we've
Speaker 2: been able to use those opportunities to grow and evolve
Speaker 2: as people.
Speaker 1: To Emma Wilkins, thank you so much for coming into
Speaker 1: the studio today. It's been really lovely to speak to you,
Speaker 1: and the new show sounds really interesting and could be
Speaker 1: a social experiment. I think that takes off either on
Speaker 1: Their Siblings Revenge season two or for those of us
Speaker 1: watching at home doing our own little mini experiments.
Speaker 2: Can't wait for you to meet all of the amazing
Speaker 2: teenagers we met.
Speaker 1: Emma Watkins. Thank you so much for coming into the
Speaker 1: studio today, and you can see Emma on Teenage Boss
Speaker 1: Next Level, airing on the ABC from Saturday, twelfth of October,
Speaker 1: and we'll have a link in our show notes. If
Speaker 1: you've enjoyed this episode, make sure you're following us. Hit
Speaker 1: that follow button because we'll be back with another exclusive
Speaker 1: guest on Stella's Something to Talk About next week