Greg Page, AKA the original Yellow Wiggle, recalled the terrifying moment he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest in January 2020.
Performing with the original Wiggles lineup to raise funds for bushfire relief, Greg complained of feeling unwell after being on stage for an hour.
But when Emma Watkins, who joined the group as Yellow Wiggle in 2012, saw Greg signal her to come over, it was “almost like he [knew] something [was] about to happen.”
In the new Wiggles documentary Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles, which will go live on Prime Video on October 24, Greg revealed new details on the fateful event.
Want to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.
RELATED: Get ready to do the propeller, The Wiggles documentary finally has a release date
Yellow Wiggle “kind of fell down … he didn’t look well”
Greg left the group in 2006 due to poor health, revealing he suffered from orthostatic intolerance, making it hard for his heart to function when standing.
His condition left him unable to walk without a cane, meaning he was unable to perform.
Anthony Field, one of the original Wiggles, recalled the terrifying moment his co-star collapsed. “He kind of fell down … he didn’t look well,” he said. “I just thought he’d overdone it. I was aware Greg used to pass out quite often.”
At first, Anthony thought Greg was having “some kind of fit”, but by the time first aid got to Greg, he’d “stopped breathing.”
“I remember the colour had run from his face,” Anthony recalled. “I thought he was dead.”
Former Red Wiggle Murray Cook described the incident as “distressing.”
“I could see Anthony start to have a panic attack,” he said.
Grace Jones, a nurse, was in the audience when she saw the incident unfold. After asking security if she could help, she ran to the stage and helped perform CPR.
RELATED: Anthony Wiggle: ‘Music develops the whole child … and you get happier kids!’
“She told me, ‘You’re having a massive heart attack’”
Greg recalled waking up in the hospital when a former Wiggles dancer, Vanessa, told him, “You’re having a massive heart attack.”
“I remember thinking: ‘What do you mean having?’” Greg said. “Because even though they’d resuscitated me, I still had a blockage, and my heart was under attack.”
Greg was incredibly lucky to be alive, and if it wasn’t for the CPR performed by help nearby, paramedics doubt he would have survived.
“After the procedure, the nurse told me I was a very lucky man,” Greg said. “Because only 10 per cent of people survive what I’d just been through.”
It’s been three years since, and thankfully, Greg is in better health today. But co-star Murray confessed the moment was one of the most traumatic experiences the band has gone through.
“It was incredibly harrowing for him and his family,” he said. “But also incredibly harrowing for us.”
When asked to summarise the event, Greg said the “only word I could use is impact.”
“To see however many people left me messages about that one event. This is quite emotional to think about. The whole cycle of The Wiggles and the relationship with our audience.”
Hot Potato: The Story of the Wiggles is available to stream on Prime Video from October 24.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
247