Britt Allcroft, the creator of the “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends” series, has died at age 81, filmmaker Brannon Carty announced on X.
Allcroft was most known for producing popular children’s shows featuring Thomas the Tank Engine after obtaining the rights to adapt Reverand Wilbert Awdry’s “Railway Series” books in the 1980s.
The show first launched as “Thomas & Friends” in 1984 before being renamed “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends.”
“Over the years of knowing Britt, we developed a close connection,” wrote Carty, who directed the 2023 documentary “An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact of Thomas the Tank Engine.”
“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 honor 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,” Carty added.
Allcroft was born in the small seaside town of Worthing in the southern part of England.
The storyteller got her start in television when she was 21 and produced shows like 1967’s kid’s quiz show “Get It-Got It-Good” as well as others.
But her hard work didn’t gain steam until the 1980s when she created the beloved train-themed show that brought smiles to young audiences across the world.
Allcroft and her then-husband, variety show producer Angus Wright, joined forces to create a production company that went on to launch “Thomas & Friends” in 1984.
The show even earned a 1985 BAFTA nomination for Best Animated Film.
The series, which featured narration by The Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and stand-up comedian Georga Carlin, was renamed to “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends” and crossed the Atlantic in 1989 to have segments air on the PBS series “Shining Time Station.”
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The producing duo was married for 20 years and divorced in 1997 — just one year before “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends” ended.
Several spinoffs continued with both of their names listed as producers even though Wright retired in the late 1990s and eventually died in 2012. The exes shared two kids.
Allcroft later tried her hand at directing spinoffs in the late 1990s and early 2000s but only directed four projects — three of which were spinoffs of the beloved children’s show.
The series has since had dozens of spinoffs including the most recent holiday special “Thomas & Friends ERTL Adventures: The Biggest Christmas Adventure” which premiered in Dec. 2024.