Britt Allcroft

Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft;<ref name="freeBMD"/> 14 December 1943 – 25 December 2024) was an English screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actress. She adapted Wilbert Awdry's The Railway Series in the form of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (later re-titled Thomas & Friends). She created Shining Time Station (with Rick Siggelkow), Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales, and Magic Adventures of Mumfie. She also wrote, co-produced, and directed the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000).

Early life

Allcroft was born Hilary Mary Allcroft in Worthing, West Sussex,<ref name="NPR-obit">Template:Cite web</ref> on 14 December 1943.<ref name="THR-obit">Template:Cite web</ref> Allcroft was raised in a modest household without a car or television during her early years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Growing up, she shared her home with an aunt who often recounted stories of her daily train commutes to London, igniting Allcroft's love for trains.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Allcroft had several stories published in a magazine when she was 15.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the age of 16, she left school<ref name="wsj2025">Template:Cite news</ref> and 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 4, was broadcast by PBS in the United States. She also worked in theatre, staging shows at the London Palladium and Drury Lane Theatres.<ref name="resident">Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

While making a documentary about British steam locomotives 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 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.<ref name=TTtTEM>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1980, she co-founded Britt Allcroft Railway Productions (later 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, a first series of 26 episodes in collaboration with director David Mitton. The first two episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends were aired together for the first time on British television on 9 October 1984, with narration by Ringo Starr and music by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell.<ref name="Independent">Template:Cite news</ref>

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 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 the books by Katharine Tozer, the production received critical acclaim and was seen worldwide.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 the character Lady.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Allcroft was an active member in the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Sundance Film Institute. She was also a fellow of the Institute of Directors.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Allcroft had expressed her disdain with the 2021 Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go cartoon series, which she had no creative control over, stating that the reboot lacked the "magic" of the original series.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2023, a documentary titled An Unlikely Fandom was released by filmmaker Brannon Carty, which centres around the Thomas & Friends adult fandom. Allcroft is featured in the documentary via both archival interview clips of her and interviews taken at her home in April 2022.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref> She appeared at the film's premiere along with Carty and Shining Time Station co-creator Rick Siggelkow.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Personal life and death

Allcroft married television producer Angus Wright in 1973. They had a son and daughter<ref name="wsj2025" /> and divorced in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="NYT death" />

Allcroft advocated against the use of animals in circuses, believing them to be violent and harmful to the minds of children. She stated, "If we teach children that it’s all right to dominate animals and use them for our amusement, how can we expect children to extend kindness to one another?"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Allcroft died on 25 December 2024 in Los Angeles, eleven days after her 81st birthday.<ref name="NYT death">Template:Cite web</ref> Her death was announced by filmmaker Brannon Carty on Twitter on 3 January 2025.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Year	Title	Director	Screenwriter	Producer	Actress	Role	Notes
1964	Three Go Round	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Presenter	Narrative script
1967–1968	Blue Peter<ref name="NYT death" />	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No		Member of production team
1967	Get It-Got It-Good	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No
1984–2003	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		182 episodes; executive producer and script consultant
1989–1995	Shining Time Station	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		65 episodes; executive producer and writer
1990	Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		Television special
1994–1998	Magic Adventures of Mumfie	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	The Queen of Night	Voice
1995	The Thomas the Tank Engine Man	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Herself	Documentary
1996	Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales	Template:No	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:No		6 episodes
	Mumfie's Quest: The Movie	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	The Queen of Night	Voice
1999	Storytime with Thomas	Template:Yes	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No		2 episodes
2000	Thomas and the Magic Railroad	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Template:Yes	Lady	Voice
2023	An Unlikely Fandom	Template:No	Template:No	Template:No	Template:Yes	Herself	Documentary

Further reading

• "Thomas Flotation Steams Ahead" (The Independent, 18 October 1996).

External links

• Template:IMDb name
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• Article on Allcroft and Gullane/HIT
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