NEED TO KNOW
- Anthony Field, the Blue Wiggle, shared how his daughter became a member of the group
- Field told PEOPLE that he was away for much of her teenage years — and now they’re making up for lost time
- Lucia Field joined The Wiggles in July 2022
Anthony Field, who’s largely known as the Blue Wiggle in the children’s musical group, never imagined he’d share the stage with his daughter. Now, it’s one of his greatest joys.
When Lucia, 21, was growing up, she was a boarding student at the Australian Ballet School, and Fields spent much of his time on the road.
“To me, Lucia’s Life was probably going to be the Australian Ballet or somewhere ballet,” Field, 62, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “But COVID hit and she came back to Sydney, and I got to know her.”
At the time, Field “didn’t even know she could sing.” Then, years later, Emma Watkins left the group, and they needed someone to replace her.
“I remember I just asked her one day, but I never pushed her,” he says of his proposal for her to join the group. “I never thought she’d be a Wiggle. So I’m just really happy it’s happened that way.”
Now, Field is making up for lost time.
“I was away so much in her teenage years, and she was away at boarding school, so I missed out on a lot of her development,” he says of Lucia, who joined the group in July 2022.
He adds, “And now I see her great sense of humor, her talent and just her compassion and love of children. She’s a great kid.”
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Field shares three kids with wife Michaela Patisteas: Lucia, Marie, 19, and Antonio, 18.
Marie has been the voice of Dorothy the Dinosaur on the show for the past couple of years, and she comes on set to do a runner’s job, says Field.
“But her real passion is acting,” he says. Meanwhile, his son is “a big guy, and he plays guitar and drums.”
Field adds, “I don’t know if The Wiggles are big for him, but he loves music.”
Field founded The Wiggles in Sydney, Australia in 1991 with Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt and Greg Page. Since then, the rest of the founding members have moved on — but Field intends to continue until he can’t.
“I’m so happy it worked out how it did, and I’m so happy that I’m still doing it. And the boys, the original boys, are always so enthusiastic and supportive that the Wiggles are still going,” he says.
“I’ve asked Simon, who’s been a Wiggle now for 13 years, I think, ‘Simon, if one day comes that I’m not with it, tap me on the shoulder and it might be time to go then,'” Field concludes. “[But] I don’t see myself retiring as long as I’m still contributing.”
For more from Anthony Field, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere now.
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