Britt Allcroft, the creator of the “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends” series, died at 81, filmmaker Brannon Carty announced on X.
Allcroft was best known for producing the popular children’s show featuring Thomas the Tank Engine after obtaining the rights to adapt Reverend Wilbert Awdry’s “Railway Series” books for the small screen.
The show first launched as “Thomas & Friends” in 1984 before being renamed “Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends.”
The series has had dozens of spinoffs including the most recent holiday special “Thomas & Friends ERTL Adventures: The Biggest Christmas Adventure” which premiered on Dec. 2024.
Carty, who directed the 2023 documentary “An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact of Thomas the Tank Engine” told social media the television producer’s family asked him to “bring this news to the Thomas fandom” as they mourn the loss of an “adoring mother and wife.”
“Over the years of knowing Britt, we developed a close connection,” Carty wrote on the social media platform.
“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.”
