Brett Allcroft, who brought Thomas the Tank Engine to television, has died at the age of 81

Brett Allcroft, the British producer, director and writer who turned the delightful, reckless locomotive antics into the “Thomas and Friends” television series, which became a sprawling franchise and a longtime favorite for children and adults, died on December 25. In Los Angeles. She was 81 years old.

Her daughter, Holly Wright, confirmed her death.

Mrs. Alcroft was the driving force behind bringing Thomas the Tank Engine, a cartoon locomotive first designed in a series of children’s books in the 1940s Rev. Wilbert Awdryon television. The series spawned a movie, merchandise, and even theme parks, and ballooned into a billion-dollar franchise.

Its original adaptation was a small-budget live-action production that premiered in 1984 on Britain’s ITV as “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends”, later shortened to “Thomas & Friends”. Audiences were quickly drawn into the show’s life lessons filled with catchy music, lush scenery and an entertaining array of human-like locomotives. It has been a huge success and has been broadcast for over three decades in the UK, US and elsewhere.

“Children these days live in a fast-paced world, but I don’t think children are really changing,” Ms Allcroft said in a 1995 BBC documentary. “They need kindness and comfort in their lives. They need pleasure, and they need stories that, even though they are entertaining to them, also help them interpret the world.

Ms. Allcroft first encountered this series while researching a documentary about the railway. Previous attempts to adapt the books for television had faltered, but she lobbied for the rights, envisioning a series with a narrator that adhered closely to the original books.

Her conviction led her to finance much of it herself, and even mortgage her home, she said in a letter 1995 interview With the Australian program “60 Minutes”.

As for the narrator, Ms. Allcroft was searching for the right voice when she heard him on television: “I walked into the room and Ringo Starr was being interviewed on a talk show.”

The former Beatles became the first in a long line of stars to narrate the franchise, including Michael Angelis, George Carlin, Alec Baldwin and Pierce Brosnan.

“This was a pioneering woman in the television industry in the early 1980s, which was predominantly male-dominated,” said Brannon Carty, director of “An Unlikely Fandom,” a 2023 documentary about the series’ enduring appeal. “It had all these things going against it, which would have made the average person give up,” he said. “Despite all of that, I took the initiative.”

The series found its way to American children in 1989, when Ms. Alcroft brought it to the PBS network in 1989 Substring“Shining Time Station”, which included clips from the British version of the show.

“She was a very good businesswoman,” said Rick Sigelko, a television producer who collaborated with Ms. Alcroft. “She had a vision, and she had this intuitive understanding of kids. She would just move forward.”

Some executives were initially skeptical of the show’s success, but Ms. Allcroft thought children would be drawn to a slower-paced story that had the intimate feel of a bedtime story, Siggelko said.

“There was a kindness about Thomas that was completely different from anything else that was on the air,” he said in an interview.

Shining Time Station was a huge hit among American children, with about 1.2 million viewers on PBS, rivaling Mr. Rogers neighborhood.” According to to The New York Times in 1991. The series was also broadcast internationally, increasing global commercial demand for merchandise, from toys and train sets to posters and puzzles.

“Thomas and Friends” is now one of the world The biggest game and television franchises for preschoolers with analysts appreciation Annual global retail sales were more than $1 billion in 2016. Mattel bought Hit Entertainment, the British owner of Thomas, in 2012 as part of a $680 million deal.

After some criticism that the show’s characters lacked diversity, Recent modifications oThe world of Thomas, both on screen and in merchandise, has added locomotives from Brazil, China, India and Mexico.

The series reached the big screen with the film “Thomas and the Magic Railroad” in 2000. A spin-off animated version of the series “Thomas and Friends: All Engines Go” aired on Cartoon Network in 2021. A second film is in the works, according to Mattel.

Britt Allcroft was born on December 14, 1943 in West Sussex, England, before moving to London.

When she was 16, she developed an interest in local theater and behind-the-scenes work. Ms Allcroft joined the BBC when she was 19, presenting shows including Blue Peter, for which she later moved into the production team.

In the early 1970s, she moved to Southern Television and later founded her own company, Britt Allcroft Productions, through which she created television and theatrical shows while working at local television stations.

At the end of the decade, she was hired to make a short documentary about British steam trains and recalled books from her youth.

She was married to Angus Wright, a television producer who worked closely with her in developing “Thomas & Friends” for the screen. They divorced in 1997.

In addition to her daughter, survivors include a son and grandchildren.

The longevity of the show, which has continued across generations, has made it a favorite among adults as well. In recent years, online communities have sprung up to celebrate the show and even create their own model versions of the beloved episodes.

When Ms. Allcroft attended a screening of the 2023 documentary, “people were cheering and screaming” for her, said Mr. Carty, the director. “It was like the Super Bowl out there when I got out.”

Ultimately, Ms. Allcroft said in the documentary, she wanted her world to be an escape.

“I wanted to make this so that any young child watching would feel like this is a place they can go,” she said. “That they were not alone, that they were comforted and that they were inspired.”

Emmett Lindner Contributed to reports.