Ill singer 'to leave The Wiggles'

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Australian children's entertainers The Wiggles could be about to lose one of its members according to press reports.

The foursome, who are among the country's highest earners and broadcast around the world, have called a press conference for a "major announcement".

It is expected this will confirm the departure of Yellow Wiggle, Greg Page, 34, who has missed concerts since a hernia operation last December.

Page has been experiencing lethargy and fainting spells for some months.

The group's publicist, Dianna O'Neill, told The Sydney Morning Herald that doctors had not been able to identify Page's illness.

Global franchise

"We don't know what's wrong with him - he's had a lot of fainting spells, he's had a lot of tests done to work it out," she told the paper.

"I spoke to him this morning and he said 'Yes, I'm tired, but the doctors haven't put a name to it yet, they just don't know'."

Page helped found The Wiggles in 1991 after he and two other members met while studying early childhood education at Sydney's Macquarie University.

The Wiggles were Australia's top-earning entertainers last year, ahead of AC/DC and Nicole Kidman.

The concerts and shows, which also feature a cast of characters including Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog, had a gross income last year of Aus$50m (£19.89m).

The group has franchised its enormously popular recipe to several non-English speaking countries, including Taiwan.

The Wiggles are shown in the UK on Nick Jr.