Britt Allcroft, the creator of the beloved children’s series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, has died aged 81.
In the 1970s, the TV producer secured the rights to adapt Reverend Wilbert Awdry’s Railway Series books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine for screen, which became the 1984 series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (later retitled Thomas & Friends).
Allcroft, along with her former husband, fellow TV producer Angus Wright, spent four years raising the funds to make the first 26 episodes of the series, which saw instant success with fans. The series followed Thomas, a blue, anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive, and a fleet of his locomotive friends – Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy and Toby – as they worked each day on the railway under The Fat Controller.
Allcroft’s death was announced by filmmaker Brannon Carty, who knew Allcroft from making the 2023 documentary An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact of Thomas the Tank Engine.
A statement from Allcroft’s family, shared by Carty, remembered Allcroft as an “adoring mother and wife and visionary producer”.
“It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of Britt Allcroft,” the statement said.
“The Allcroft-Wright family has asked me to bring this news to the Thomas fandom. The family is currently in mourning and asks that their privacy be respected at this time.
“She brought so much joy and happiness to people everywhere during her time on Earth.
Carty continued: “Over the years of knowing Britt, we developed a close connection. It was truly a privilege to have her as both a mentor and a friend, and I’m so glad that so many fans were able to meet her at the New York screening of An Unlikely Fandom. It was an absolute honour to have her in our documentary, and she has since remained a vocal supporter of our cause.”
“I think I can speak for the entirety of the fandom when I say that all of us will deeply miss her. Without her, so many of us would never have met. While I am devastated by her passing, we can all find comfort in the certainty that her legacy will endure forever through Thomas and his fans around the world. Rest in peace.”
Allcroft, born in Worthing, West Sussex, in 1943, first became intrigued by the characters in Awdry’s books when making the 1979 documentary about the Bluebell Railway, a heritage railway in Sussex featured in Awdry’s books, when she met with the author.
Speaking about Thomas and his friends, she previously said: “It really didn’t take me long to become intrigued by the characters, the relationships between them and the nostalgia they invoked.”
Allcroft was successful in getting the Thomas series on screens at a time when multiple TV producers were vying to make deals to secure the rights from Awdry. She worked to convince Awdry that she could transform the stories into a successful TV show with sufficient funding, which she did, after four years of sourcing the funds. She established her production company, The Britt Allcroft Company, in the process.
Allcroft’s Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends first aired on ITV on 9 October 1984, directed by David Mitton, with narration by Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and music by Mike O’Donnell and Junior Campbell.
The original series was made using moving models, with locomotives and other vehicles operated by radios, while human characters were static figures. Stop motion was used occasionally whenever a human or animal character needed to move. By series three, hand-drawn animation was introduced.
The success of the series in the UK led to its expansion in other regions. In 1989, Allcroft and American producer Rick Siggelkow created Shining Time Station, a live-action children’s series starring the magical character of the miniature Mr Conductor, aimed at an American audience, which established Thomas’s popularity in the US.
Thomas & Friends ran for 24 series and 584 episodes from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021, with Allcroft stepping down as executive producer in the early Noughties.
In 1996, Allcroft created a spin-off to Shining Time Station called Mr Conductor’s Thomas Tales. She went on to write and direct a film based on the Thomas franchise in 2000, titled Thomas and the Magic Railroad, which performed poorly at the box office.
Over the years, Thomas & Friends faced accusations of sexism over the roles played by the male and female characters: the leading characters were all dominant male trains, while the female ones, Mavis and Daisy, were coaches that were pulled around.
Series four (1994) saw the introduction of female characters from Awdry’s books, including motor car Caroline, Nancy and The Refreshment Lady.
After leaving the show as executive producer, Allcroft’s company was purchased by children’s entertainment company HiT Entertainment in 2003. In 2012, the company – and the Thomas franchise – were sold to US toy giant Mattel.
The series went on to introduce CGI effects as computer-animated effects became more advanced, and in the most recent years, the series has introduced a more diverse range of characters. By 2018, the “Steam Team” became gender balanced, and in 2022, the series introduced its first autistic character.
Allcroft has been credited for the worldwide expansion of the Thomas franchise, with one fan writing in a tribute online: “Rest in peace Britt, without you Wilbert’s books wouldn’t have been amazingly adapted for television [and] people would never experience the magical world of Thomas and friends on TV.”
Another added: “Thank you Britt for making the childhood of many, thank you for all you’ve done for Thomas. I think I speak for everyone when I say we’ll miss you dearly.”
