80-471: Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft , 14 December 1943) is an English writer, producer, director and voice actress. She is the creator of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (later re-titled Thomas & Friends ), Shining Time Station (with Rick Siggelkow), Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales and Magic Adventures of Mumfie . She also wrote, co-produced and directed
160-413: A child, approached publisher Kaye & Ward with a proposal for a musical television series, with songs from himself and lyricist Peter Reeves. However, the publishers and the author refused to give Lloyd Webber's company "control of almost everything", which Lloyd Webber's lawyers argued was necessary in order to "secure the investment money from America which would be needed to pay for the animation and
240-689: A company specialising in children's entertainment, in September 2002. The eighth series (2004) was first released directly to VHS and DVD as four episodes in the US and six in the UK, before airing on television on Nick Jr. in the UK and PBS in the US. It introduced a number of significant changes to the show. Many members of the original founding team involved in the original show since 1984 left production, including Allcroft, Mitton, and original composers Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell . The latter two had been embroiled in
320-426: A first series of 26 episodes in collaboration with director David Mitton . The first two episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends , shot on 35 mm film , with narration by Ringo Starr in the UK and the US, after the second series, Starr left the show and was replaced with Michael Angelis in the UK and George Carlin in the US, and music by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell , were aired together for
400-581: A full series, as they feared that at the time Awdry's stories were not popular enough outside the UK to justify the time and money needed to make the series. Andrew Lloyd Webber later established the Really Useful Group in 1977, a name derived from the phrase "Really Useful Engine". He would go on to work on a musical loosely inspired by The Railway Series , called Starlight Express , which premiered in 1984, and became one of his most well-known works. In 1979, British television producer Britt Allcroft
480-417: A licence for television rights for Awdry's The Railway Series books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine . David Mitton of Clearwater Features directed scripts which Britt Allcroft had developed from Awdry's stories. Mitton's live model animations which he made with Terence Permane, Steve Asquith and a talented crew, became beloved among children for decades to come. The production team was completed with
560-487: A number of awards and significantly increased the popularity of the Thomas media franchise in the US. Shining Time Station lasted until 1995 and, in 1996, she created the short spin-off series Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales . In 1994, Allcroft followed Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and Shining Time Station with the cartoon-animated Magic Adventures of Mumfie , in collaboration with director John Collins. Inspired by
640-723: A protracted legal dispute with HiT before their departure. Asquith, who was part of the original production team since 1984, took over as director, while Simon Spencer replaced Fehrle as producer. The eighth series was the very last series to air on CITV . The eight series was aired separately in two parts, by the time the second half of the eight series aired, CITV had become its own channel, coincidentally around this time Channel 5 's preschool programming block, Milkshake! , had also acquired rights to air Thomas & Friends too, rebroadcasting series 8 in October that same year. CITV would continue to air repeats of series 6-8 before losing all
720-482: A response to accusations of sexism levelled against the series two years earlier. In reality, these were not "new" characters, but rather creations of Awdry from the original Railway Series books. Series four was almost entirely based on The Railway Series . The narrow-gauge engines were introduced, and were the focus of a number of episodes. Only one original story ("Rusty to the Rescue", written by Allcroft and Mitton)
800-470: A single storyteller before the characters gained their own voice actors in series 13 onwards. Starting from series 22 up until series 24, Thomas himself (voiced by John Hasler in the UK dub and Joseph May in the US dub) takes over as the narrator and breaks the fourth wall . The original live action models were filmed on giant 16 x 20 model railway layout sets, which were set up and dismantled one by one for each episode's scenes. The models were built to
880-462: A special coinciding with the 70th anniversary of the franchise, and Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure ; Series 19 began airing that same year. 2016 saw some changes; longtime composers Robert and Peter Hartshorne (father and son team) left the series and Chris Renshaw and Oliver Davis took over. 2016 also saw Thomas & Friends: The Great Race ; Series 20 began airing the same year. Series 20
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#1732868760382960-400: A strong emotional content that would carry with little children's experiences with life." Allcroft worked to convince Awdry that she could, with funding, convert the stories into a successful television show. Her efforts were successful, and she purchased the television rights from the publishers of The Railway Series at a cost of what was then £50,000. Allcroft still had to work to raise
1040-482: Is a British children's television series that aired for 24 series and 584 episodes from 9 October 1984 to 20 January 2021. Based on The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher , the series was developed for television by Britt Allcroft . The series follows the adventures of Thomas , an anthropomorphised blue steam locomotive on the fictional North Western Railway on
1120-652: The BBC as a sound studio manager, moving to BBC Television , Light Entertainment and then to Southern Television (Southern T.V.), the commercial television franchise for the south and south east of England. He and Jill moved to the Southern T.V. based in Southampton and after their marriage ended, he remained in Southampton where he then shared a home with his second wife, Britt Allcroft with whom he had two children, from 1973 until
1200-518: The E-mu Proteus sound module. In 2004, Robert Hartshorne took O'Donnell and Campbell's place as composer, while Ed Welch became the show's songwriter from Series 8 to The Great Discovery . Welch left after The Great Discovery . Hartshorne took his place as songwriter from Series 12 and onwards. From Day of the Diesels /2011-2016, Robert's son Peter Hartshorne helped him with the music. In 2016,
1280-590: The Island of Sodor with his friends Edward, Henry, Gordon, James , Percy, Toby and others who are engines of The Fat Controller . In the United States, it was first broadcast along with the spin-off series, Shining Time Station , on PBS ' PTV Park block on 29 January 1989. The rights to the series are currently owned by HIT Entertainment (a subsidiary of Mattel ), which acquired Gullane Entertainment in July 2002. HIT
1360-399: The first series of Thomas the Tank Engine episodes launched nationally on ITV in the UK on 9 October 1984. Licensing already began with Michael Stanfield board games and jigsaws in 1983. Angus Wright had credit as Executive Producer on the series. The company continued to grow in countries around the world and Wright made frequent trips to countries such as Japan and the U.S where
1440-492: The 1:32 scale, known in model railway circles in " Gauge 1 ". From Series 1 to 3, the locomotives used chassis made by Märklin , along with scratch built plastic bodies. Along with the moving eyes, eyelid mechanisms and resin faces, these bodies included smoke generators. For the first five series, the rolling stocks were made using Tenmille kits and most of them were later replaced with duplicates made from resin casts . Later models were constructed entirely from scratch. Some of
1520-535: The Clearwater in-house studio in Battersea, a suburb of London, for Series 1. Production was later relocated to Shepperton Studios , Surrey, southwest of London, for subsequent series. The use of moving models was seen at the time of the series' conception as an effective method of animating the stories. Locomotives and other vehicles were operated by radio controls, while humans and animals were static figures. Stop motion
1600-553: The Dreamers . He also created the popular Houseparty for light entertainment with celebrity cook Mary Morris and guests. With the change of the Southern TV franchise he stayed on at Southampton, becoming Head of Religious programmes, first for TV South and then for Meridian Television. He was producer and occasional director for the weekly Sunday evening programme Come Sunday. Through this he had opportunities in programmes to work with
1680-517: The Hartshornes left the series, and Chris Renshaw and Oliver Davis took their places. Angus Wright (producer) Angus Mackenzie Nicholson Wright (11 April 1934 – 15 June 2012) was a British television producer ; he was co-founder and managing director of The Britt Allcroft Company PLC until his retirement in 1999. Wright was born on 11 April 1934 in Sunderland , County Durham . His father
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#17328687603821760-509: The Magic Railroad , it was not a direct sequel. It proved successful; this resulted in more direct-to-video specials being produced. Series 9 (2005) and 10 (2006) saw the expansion of the supporting cast with new and old characters. From Series 9 onwards, the narrator would call out the episodes' names, and from Series 11 onwards the theme song was begun with the sound of a train whistle . Series 10 aired with twenty-eight episodes rather than
1840-499: The Tank Engine ). The latter book was unusual, as it was written specifically by Christopher Awdry to be adapted by the show. At that time, it was a contractual obligation that the series could only adapt stories that appeared in print. The series also used a story from a Thomas Annual, "Thomas and Trevor", and a specially written stand-alone story, Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree . One episode, " The Missing Coach ",
1920-723: The US Public Television Network ( PBS ), home of children's TV classic Sesame Street . The resulting success of the characters enabled them to be established in Japan on Fuji Television . In just over ten years the Britt Allcroft Company grew from a two-person start-up to a worldwide operation with offices in New York City , Tokyo and Toronto . At the time of its 1996 launch on the London Stock Exchange , it
2000-624: The US and fifty-two in the UK, and continued to introduce action-packed storylines, as well as new characters. These series saw the introduction of a writing staff. The sixth series (2002) saw an attempt to create a spin-off based on the successful Bob the Builder series. Two episodes introduced a group of construction machine characters known as "The Pack". The spin-off did not materialise for some time. Eventually, in 2006, thirteen episodes were released straight to DVD in two collections: On Site with Thomas and Thomas' Trusty Friends . The sixth series
2080-494: The addition of a voice cast to support the established narrator. The DVD feature Hero of the Rails was the first Thomas & Friends production to showcase these changes, and Series 13 was the first television series in the new format. The CGI animation for the series was provided by Nitrogen Studios of Vancouver . In September 2010, Apax was preparing to sell off HiT Entertainment and its franchises, including Thomas – regarded as
2160-431: The animation for the series from series 12 to 16) also had some of the original models on display. The live-action models used since 1984 could not lip sync . HIT's subsidiary HOT Animation introduced the use of CGI in the show about 20 years later, first to add smoke and other effects. In 2009, HIT introduced a fully CGI series. In Series 12, CGI by Nitrogen Studios was used to animate the characters' faces and to make
2240-453: The books by Katharine Tozer, that production received critical acclaim and was seen worldwide. In 2008, several years after she left her original company, Allcroft revived the Mumfie library, and a reboot series eventually aired in 2021. Allcroft wrote and directed Thomas and the Magic Railroad , a film based on the Thomas franchise, that was released in 2000. She also provided the voice of
2320-508: The broadcast hit the front pages of The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail . Awdry branded the episode "unprofessional", and the point-switching debacle an "elementary mistake". As a result, the second episode scheduled for 28 June 1953 was put on hold, and then later cancelled. The BBC offered Awdry and the Railway Series publishers greater creative control over the production, but
2400-403: The character Lady . The film was a critical and commercial failure. The poor box-office performance of the film caused Allcroft to resign as deputy chairwoman of her company in September 2000. Allcroft was previously married to television producer Angus Wright in 1973, but later divorced in 1997. They have two children. Thomas the Tank Engine %26 Friends Thomas & Friends
2480-493: The company would have future offices as well as Toronto, Ontario , Canada . In 1986 the company was joined by Price Waterhouse accountant William Harris who became Finance Director in 1988, and in 1989 Sue Sangway, who later became Wright's second wife joined the Marketing Department which she then became head of in 1991. In 1987 work began to bring Thomas the Tank Engine to the U.S where it became established on
Britt Allcroft - Misplaced Pages Continue
2560-515: The end of their marriage in 1997. At Southern Television, he was a prominent member of staff in children's television. He had now become a producer and director of programmes in Jack Hargreaves ’ children's television department. He was responsible for one of ITV 's longest-running children's favourites How as well as Little Big Time and Oliver in the Overworld starring Freddy Garrity and
2640-575: The film Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000). She was born Hilary Mary Allcroft on 14 December 1943 in Worthing, West Sussex , England . At the age of 16, she changed her first name to Britt as her career in British radio and television gained momentum. She went on to create a succession of programmes for the BBC and ITV during the 1970s and 1980s, including Moon Clue Game , Dance Crazy and Keepsakes . Mothers By Daughters , produced for Channel Four ,
2720-465: The film-making." The status of the project seemed uncertain, and while Stanley Pickard (Kaye & Ward's managing director at the time) told Awdry that he was "maintaining personal contact with Andrew and still had a slight hope that there might be a way out", Awdry remained apprehensive, saying that "Once the Americans get hold of it the whole series would be vulgarised and ruined." Eventually, an agreement
2800-501: The first time on British television on 9 October 1984. The success of the series in the UK, and the merchandising campaign that Allcroft had been organising since 1983, soon led to further success in other parts of the world. In 1989, she and American producer Rick Siggelkow created Shining Time Station , a live-action children's sitcom fronted by the magical character of the miniature Mr. Conductor, who introduced two Thomas stories in each half-hour programme. Shining Time Station won
2880-415: The founder of Clearwater Features Ltd.; crew member Steve Asquith; American-born producer Robert D. Cardona ; and composers and songwriters Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell . The series started production in 1984, produced by Clearwater Features Ltd. (Mitton and Cardona's company) and ITV 's Central Independent Television region. The series was originally shot and produced with live action models at
2960-401: The head writer, starting with Series 12. HiT announced multiple changes to the show beginning in 2009. One new aspect was the introduction of live-action host segments to Thomas ' home video releases. The host took the form of a character who worked on The Fat Controller 's railway, who would instruct viewers in craft projects. For the final two DVDs featuring Series 12 in 2009, the host
3040-413: The introduction of new characters, such as Cranky , The Horrid Lorries and Old Slow Coach. It also focused on more dramatic and darker action-oriented plotlines, along with more severe accidents, than the earlier series. After series 5, Angus Wright stepped down as executive producer. It was the final series broadcast on Cartoon Network, as Nickelodeon UK would eventually acquire the broadcast rights to
3120-526: The models from the sister television series Tugs were reused in later episodes of the series. From Series 5 to 12, some larger-scale models were used for the narrow gauge characters, to more easily fit the complex mechanisms into them while retaining a sufficient level of detail. In Series 6, the characters known as "the Pack" (construction machines) were also constructed on a large scale, and larger models of Thomas and Percy were made to interact with them. In
3200-451: The money to finance production and (despite showing a keen interest) wanted a level of creative control which she did not want to forego. In the end, after several years of searching and having to place a second mortgage on her home, Allcroft raised sufficient funding from her local bank manager. By 1981, Allcroft had secured the finances to produce the show. She started to assemble the crew, including producer and director David Mitton ,
3280-460: The new stories would be unrealistic. Cardona left as producer, while Allcroft joined Mitton as co-producer. Allcroft's husband, Angus Wright , took over as executive producer. Series 4 was first released direct to video between 1994 and 1995, before its broadcast debut on Cartoon Network . The producers planned to introduce some new female characters, including motor car Caroline , Nancy , and The Refreshment Lady . Some commentators took this as
Britt Allcroft - Misplaced Pages Continue
3360-448: The ninth series, another large-scale Thomas model was built to be at the same scale as the narrow gauge engines and to provide greater possibilities for interaction. It was joined by a large version of James in the tenth series. Among the CGI switch in 2009, some of these models were put on display in a special exhibit at Drayton Manor Theme Park 's Thomas Land . Nitrogen Studios (who provided
3440-421: The nostalgia they invoked." She told him that she wanted to bring these stories to life and made an arrangement to secure certain rights through his then-publishers Kaye & Ward . In 1980, she co-founded Britt Allcroft Railway Productions (internationally known as The Britt Allcroft Company ) with her husband, television producer Angus Wright . It took Allcroft four years to raise the funding for, and create,
3520-440: The now iconic music by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell and first narrator Ringo Starr . Under the cottage industry style company, Angus, Britt and two assistants ran the production and licensing business from rooms in the family home with their business lawyer Nigel Palmer. The business hired two more members of staff before the company moved to its first premises . With the support of Lewis Rudd, then of Central Television ,
3600-487: The people and animals move. The 13th Series was the first to be fully animated in CGI. Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell composed the show's original main title theme, incidental music and 36 songs; these were used for series 1–7, comprising 182 episodes and music videos between 1984 and 2003. The instruments for series 1–2 were synthesised with the Roland Jupiter-6 and instruments for series 3–7 were synthesised with
3680-546: The popularity of the show, the film was criticised by British reviewers who were unfamiliar with Shining Time Station . The movie was well received by young children on both sides of the Atlantic, but made only $ 19.7 million at the box office, against a cost of $ 19 million to produce. The film was broadcast on BBC1 on 1 January 2004 and again on 29 December 2008. The sixth and seventh series (2002-2003) were first released directly to VHS and DVD as forty-six episodes in
3760-517: The publishers declined, preferring to focus on publishing new books for the series. Nearly twenty years later, the BBC featured Awdry's stories in the television story-telling show Jackanory . Fourteen years before Thomas and Friends was aired, Ted Ray (sitting in a stationmaster 's office) read five Railway Series books in episodes that aired between 20 September to 2 October 1970. In 1973, Andrew Lloyd Webber , having read The Railway Series as
3840-496: The rights to the programme in 2007. A new theme song and new incidental music was composed by Ed Welch and Robert Hartshorne, respectively. The episode runtime was increased to seven minutes. The series was produced using digital video cameras, creating a somewhat different look for the show. Other changes included the additions of animated educational sequences and transitions between stories. Urie also left, while Stevenson remained in her role as executive producer. Sam Barlow became
3920-609: The script editor from Series 9 to 11. Series 12 (2008) saw the introduction of CGI effects (provided by HiT Entertainment's subsidiary Hot Animation ), with the intent of producing the show entirely in CGI the following year. The traditional models and sets were still used, but with computer-animated faces superimposed on the models to allow for changing facial expressions. Humans and animals were fully computer-animated to allow for walking movement. Only twenty episodes were produced and broadcast (the U.S. broadcast featured six additional episodes from Engines and Escapades ). Miller became
4000-466: The second and third series, the production team were focused on producing two other television series: Tugs , which ran for one series in 1989 for Television South (TVS); and the American television series Shining Time Station , which repackaged Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends for the American television market from 1989 to 1996. Clearwater closed on 31 December 1990, just before production of
4080-613: The series in the United States, respectively. Originally, narrating was used as the only voice in the series until 2008. Britt Allcroft thought it essential to convey the episode as a story that would be read from a book at home. Individual voice-over actors were given to both the UK and US dubs of the series, following the switch to full CGI animation in 2009. The narrators include Ringo Starr , Michael Angelis , George Carlin , Alec Baldwin , Michael Brandon , Pierce Brosnan , Mark Moraghan , John Hasler , and Joseph May . Up until series 12, narration and dialogue were performed by
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#17328687603824160-425: The series. The deal stipulated that 104 11-minute episodes and 2 60-minute specials would be produced, and that the animation would transition from 3D full CGI animation (used since its transition to full CGI in 2009) to 2D animation, with new refreshed redesigns for Thomas and his friends. On 5 February 2021, it was announced that Cartoon Network and Netflix had jointly picked up the broadcast and streaming rights to
4240-463: The show for it to air on their newly created Nick Jr. channel in 1999. CN continued to air older series until their broadcast rights fully expired in 2001. The franchise's first film, Thomas and the Magic Railroad , was released in July 2000 in the UK, US, and Canada. It featured new characters created by Allcroft, along with characters from the show that had introduced Thomas to the U.S., Shining Time Station . Despite high production values and
4320-453: The show's head writer starting in Series 17), and original stories by Allcroft and Mitton. One of the primary reasons for diverging from the original books was that many of the stories not yet used featured large numbers of new characters, which would be expensive to produce. Another reason was that the producers wanted more stories about Thomas , the nominal main character. Awdry complained that
4400-616: The single most valuable asset – in order to help clear HiT's debts, and in February 2012, sold the company, along with the Thomas properties, to "US toy giant", Mattel . During production of Series 16 (2012), Miller stepped down as head writer, and Andrew Brenner (who had written some Thomas stories in the third series) assumed the role, after serving as script editor for "Blue Mountain Mystery". Additionally, Barlow stepped down as story executive after
4480-575: The sixteenth series, and the production of the CGI animation was moved from Nitrogen Studios (of Vancouver) to Arc Productions (of Toronto ). King of the Railway and Series 17, both released during 2013, served as the first special and series, respectively, developed by the new animation and production teams, respectively. 2014 saw Tale of the Brave and Series 18, the second special and series animated by Arc, respectively. 2015 saw The Adventure Begins ,
4560-566: The sixth series had previously debuted on Nick Jr UK first. The fact that older sets were used and that the episodes were shot on 35mm film stock (as opposed to the digital video format used at the time of the episodes' release) suggest it was filmed some time before Series 8. In Series 7 (2003) the programme title was officially shortened to Thomas & Friends , this name having been used on merchandise and video covers for three years previously. Phil Fehrle replaced Allcroft and Mitton as producer, although Mitton remained as series director. Wright
4640-500: The story executive, while Abi Grant and Paul Larson served as script editors. This series saw the adoption of a centralised cast, including Thomas , Edward, Henry, Gordon, James , Percy, Toby and Emily. HiT Entertainment was itself acquired by Apax Partners , a private equity company, in March 2005. A straight-to-video film, Calling All Engines!, was released in 2005, shortly before series 9. While featuring characters from Thomas and
4720-441: The style of the original illustrations. The first episode (based on "The Sad Story of Henry") was broadcast live on the evening of Sunday 14 June 1953 from Lime Grove Studios . The live broadcast did not fare well: a failure to switch the points caused the model of Henry to derail and it had to be replaced on the rails by one of the operators. The models moved jerkily, and all effects and music had to be superimposed. News of
4800-561: The then Archbishop of Canterbury , Robert Runcie , activist Terry Waite , and Archbishop Desmond Tutu , which he appreciated greatly, since having a huge interest in history, religion and politics. It was also during this time that he created two television specials in partnership with Winchester Cathedral where worked with Choir Director Martin Neary and the Bishop John Taylor, with whom he became good friends. A highlight of his career
4880-533: The third series, with The Britt Allcroft Company becoming the sole producer. Series 3 had its first 16 episodes released on VHS in November 1991 before its broadcast debut in 1992 on CITV . It was made at a cost of £1.3 million (approximately $ 9.3.million in U.S. dollars at the time). The series was a combination of episodes derived from The Railway Series , stories in the Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends magazine (written by Andrew Brenner, who would later become
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#17328687603824960-411: The twenty-six of previous years. The eleventh series (2007) was filmed in high definition format. Twenty episodes aired in the original broadcast, while six were first released direct to DVD as Engines and Escapades and later aired on TV. Jocelyn Stevenson stepped down as executive producer after Series 10, with Christopher Skala taking her place as executive producer for Series 11. Sharon Miller became
5040-622: Was an Anglican vicar and his mother worked as a nurse and a school matron during her life as well as being an active member of the church and a Samaritan. Angus was the eldest of two children - his sister was Alison. Educated at Durham School , he served two years of national service in the Durham Light Infantry . He went to university at Trinity College, Oxford to read law from 1954 to 1957, where he met his first wife Jill Graham, with whom he had his first three of five children. Though being of an accomplished legal mind, his interest
5120-487: Was and still is a hot topic amongst fans, and features a new theme tune. The series is split into two halves; the first half sees Thomas travelling around the world and visiting India, Australia, and China, while the second half takes place back on the Island of Sodor. The series was released on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu in late 2018. Thomas & Friends was renewed for a 23rd series which debuted in 2019. The 24th series
5200-559: Was announced. This series saw many changes, such as Edward, Henry and Toby being removed from the Steam Team to make room for two new female steam engines named Nia (Africa) and Rebecca (UK), and the narrator being replaced with Thomas talking to the audience (however, Mark Moraghan, the previous narrator said that he would still work on the series). Series 22 is set after Big World! Big Adventures! , which came out on 20 July 2018. It introduces gender-balanced and multicultural characters which
5280-594: Was broadcast by PBS in the United States . She also worked in theatre, staging shows at the London Palladium and Drury Lane Theatres. While making a documentary about British steam trains in August 1979, Allcroft met the Reverend Wilbert Awdry , author of the children's book series The Railway Series . She said, "It really didn't take me long to become intrigued by the characters, the relationships between them and
5360-472: Was drawn to theatre and the performing Arts. Both he and Jill were members of The Oxford Footlights which had fellow members of the time; Peter Cook , Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett . Jill Graham continued acting as her career as did their eldest son. Angus was a talented pianist and this was his main contribution to the Footlights. Having had his interest in performing arts sparked, after graduation he joined
5440-541: Was folded into Mattel in 2016. A new 2D-animated series, Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go , premiered on 13 September 2021 on Cartoon Network 's preschool block Cartoonito . The first attempt to adapt Awdry's stories for television came in 1953, when the editor of the Railway Series books, Eric Marriott, was approached by the BBC , who wished to use live-action model trains to re-create two stories from Awdry's first book, The Three Railway Engines . 00 gauge Hornby Dublo models appeared on sets that reflected
5520-402: Was in the process of being filmed, but was cancelled mid-way through filming as Allcroft decided it was too confusing for young viewers. The production team went on to use "Better Late Than Never" instead. The story "Gordon Goes Foreign" from the Railway Series book The Eight Famous Engines was also planned to be adapted but was scrapped due to budgetary limitations. In between production of
5600-445: Was named Mr. Arkwright, played by Robert Slate. In 2010, beginning with the DVD "Splish Splash Splosh", the host, played by Ben Forster, was named Mr. Perkins. Upon Forster's death in 2017, he was replaced by Mark Moraghan, who played "Mr Evans" in the web series. Other major changes included a move to production in CGI (done for budgetary reasons), rather than the use of physical models, and
5680-569: Was occasionally employed for instances in which a human or animal character would move. Hand-drawn animation was used in Series 3 to create bees . The first series (1984) used stories from the first eight books, along with one specially written by the Rev. W. Awdry , Thomas's Christmas Party . The second series (1986) used stories from Book No.9 ( Edward the Blue Engine ) to Book No.30 ( More About Thomas
5760-688: Was producing a documentary on the Bluebell Railway , a heritage railway in Sussex which featured in the Railway Series book Stepney the Bluebell Engine . As part of her research before filming, Allcroft read some books in The Railway Series and was highly entertained and impressed with the stories which Awdry had written, later remarking that "there was something in the stories that I felt I could develop that would connect with children. I saw
5840-672: Was producing £6.3 million gross profit on annual turnover of £53 million. Further productions followed: Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie in 1994; Wright acted as executive producer for Kate Canning's James the Cat and John Carey's production of The Adventures of Captain Pugwash in 1998. In 1997 at age 63, Wright retired from the Britt Allcroft Company. Wright and Sue Sangway moved to France in 1998, where they were married in 2001, until he died. Wright died on 15 June 2012 in France , at
5920-503: Was reached and Awdry received an advanced payment of £500. A pilot episode was commissioned from Granada , which would feature 2D cutouts of the engines moving along a background in a style reminiscent of Ivor the Engine , with involvement from animator Brian Cosgrove . The cutouts and backgrounds were based on illustrations from The Railway Series . The pilot episode was completed by early 1976, but Granada ultimately decided not to produce
6000-489: Was released in September 2020. The series was also the final series animated by Jam Filled Toronto , as well as the final series of the entire original television show. A second live-action animated Thomas & Friends film is in development at Mattel Films with Marc Forster serving as director. On 12 October 2020, it was announced by Mattel that the series would be rebooted with Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go and that Nelvana would co-produce and animate
6080-399: Was replaced by Allcroft and Peter Urie as executive producers for Series 6. In 2003, Allcroft stepped down as executive producer, making Urie the sole executive producer for Gullane Entertainment , and Jocelyn Stevenson the executive producer for HiT Entertainment . The Britt Allcroft Company (which changed its name to Gullane Entertainment in 2000) was purchased by HiT Entertainment ,
6160-492: Was the last series of the show to air on PBS Kids; when Series 21 began airing in 2017, the American broadcast of the show was moved to the Nick Jr. Channel , ending a period of almost 28 years of Thomas & Friends on American public television. 2017 also saw the release of Journey Beyond Sodor . The show was pulled away from Nick Jr. at the end of 2019. A twenty-second series of Thomas and Friends consisting of 26 episodes
6240-440: Was the show produced at Winchester, which included performances by Cleo Laine and John Dankworth . In 1985, he resigned from network television to join an independent production company, which he had founded in 1980 with his, then wife, Britt Allcroft , also a working and accomplished television producer. In the course of a freelance assignment, Allcroft met The Reverend Wilbert Awdry and together she and Wright acquired
6320-439: Was the very first series to premiere on Nick Jr UK , and Nick Jr UK became the very first channel in the UK to air series six first. The sixth series was also rebroadcast a few months later on CITV ; it was the first series of the programme broadcast on CITV , since series 3 had aired on it over 10 years ago. The seventh series was the first series since the third series to make its debut on UK television on CITV first, considering
6400-428: Was used, the rest were all adapted from the Railway Series books, but this took certain elements of its plot and dialogue from Stepney the "Bluebell" Engine . The fifth series (1998) was first released directly to video before its TV airings on Cartoon Network . It was a radical shift, as all episodes were written by Allcroft and Mitton with no further stories being adapted from the Railway Series . This series saw
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