De-yellowed ... Sam Moran. Manager Paul Field, the brother of blue Wiggle Anthony Field, said Moran, 33, had been in contract negotiations with the group for a few months. The Daily Telegraph reported today that Moran was ostracised by the other Wiggles and nicknamed the "salaried Wiggle". He was reportedly paid $200,000 a year, a fraction of the $28.2 million the band made last year, according to the 2011 BRW's Top Entertainers List. But the band will not disclose what he was paid. Anthony Field added to the speculation of a rift when he told Channel Nine this morning that Moran was just "doing a job", and he had not spoken to him about his departure. But Paul Field dismissed the claims as "tabloid stuff".

Greg Page ... his luck is changing. "There's no Machiavellian schemes here. We're a very boring bunch of guys ... It sounds salacious in some ways but it's quite the opposite. It's very commonsense. "If the Stones lost Mick Jagger at one time due to illness and he came back a few years later, there wouldn't be a question. You'd understand creatively that of course you'd do that." Glory days ... Greg Page in yellow Wiggle gear. Page, 40, said he did not believe Moran, who had wished him good luck during the skivvy handover, was unhappy.

"For him to hand it back to me is a very big moment," Page said. If the Stones lost Mick Jagger at one time due to illness and he came back a few years later, there wouldn't be a question. You'd understand creatively that of course you'd do that "I said, 'Sam, how are you with all of this?' "He said, 'Greg, I'm really happy and I'm looking forward to the future.' "That's what he said."

Paul Field said interest in Page's return was sparked after the Wiggles' members met their former partner at their Aria Hall of Fame induction ceremony in November. "And they went 'Wow, he is really full of beans and physically good' and it was the first time they all got to speak to him again," he said. The preschool band got together after their three-month Christmas tour ended this month and they discussed the possibility that Page could return – a proposal they then put to him, Field said. Once Page considered and accepted the proposal, the Wiggles immediately announced the decision, he added. "The stars were in alignment. This was something we instinctively went with … This wasn't a financial decision. If you think it out, if it was purely down to money, we wouldn't be doing something like this. You'd probably be going against lots of marketing and business advice.

"Sam did an amazing job as his understudy and replacing him for five years … Clearly, you wouldn't be happy losing one of the best gigs on the planet. I understand that. But he also understands that the original singer is now able to come back. "We are not a corporate get-together. We're a real group of mates." Page brushed off rumours personal financial difficulties prompted his return, saying they were "totally over exaggerated" and "just about every person on the planet" was affected by the global financial crisis. "[My return] is about me having a second chance to come back to do what I want to do and I'm really grateful for that," he said. Field said there were no plans for Moran to remain part of the Wiggles, despite fans' calls for him to become the fifth member and don a green skivvy.

But he added that Moran was due to use the Wiggles' Hot Potato Studio to record his own projects. The Wiggles will record some albums with Page in the studio next week, Field said. They were also hoping to speak to the ABC about a co-production, touring Australia in March and have two tours of North America and Britain scheduled for later this year, he added. Loading Follow this reporter on Twitter @curious_scribe

