Britt Allcroft

{{Infobox person

| image =

| caption = Allcroft with a picture of Thomas the Tank Engine in 2023

| birth_name = Hilary Mary Allcroft Coote{{cite web |title=Entry Information for Hilary M.A. Coote |url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?scan=1&r=188030722:9308&d=bmd_1734743064 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119224511/https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?scan=1&r=188030722:9308&d=bmd_1734743064 |archive-date=19 January 2025 |url-status=live |work=FreeBMD |publisher=ONS |access-date=19 January 2025}}

| birth_date = {{birth date|1943|12|14|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Worthing, West Sussex, England

| death_date = {{death date and age|2024|12|25|1943|12|14|df=yes}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California

| occupation = {{hlist|Screenwriter|producer|director|voice actress}}

| years active = 1964–2024

| children = 2

| spouse = {{marriage|Angus Wright|1973|1997|reason=divorced}}

}}

Britt Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft Coote; 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 Coote in Worthing, West Sussex,{{cite web |last1=Veltman |first1=Chloe |title=Britt Allcroft, who brought Thomas the Tank Engine to television, dies at 81 |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/03/nx-s1-5247462/thomas-the-tank-engine-britt-allcroft-dead |publisher=NPR |access-date=10 January 2025 |date=3 January 2025 |quote=Allcroft was born in 1943 in Worthing, a town on England's south coast.}} on 14 December 1943.{{cite web |last1=Barnes |first1=Mike |title=Britt Allcroft, Creator of TV's 'Thomas the Tank Engine,' Dies at 81 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/britt-allcroft-dead-thomas-the-tank-engine-1236098959/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=10 January 2025 |date=4 January 2025 |quote=Born on Dec. 14, 1943, in West Sussex, England, Hilary Mary Allcroft landed a job with the BBC when she was 19.}} Allcroft was raised in a modest household without a car or television during her early years.{{cite news |title=Britt Allcroft obituary: producer who televised Thomas the Tank Engine |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/obituaries/article/britt-allcroft-obituary-producer-who-televised-thomas-the-tank-engine-q7cw2vjkl |access-date=28 January 2025 |work=The Times}} 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.{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Frazzler |title=Allcroft Engineers Children's Tales |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4kNVAAAAIBAJ&dq=britt+allcroft+-%22%28Thomas%29+Limited%22&pg=PA13 |access-date=28 January 2025 |work=The Robesonian |agency=Associated Press |date=22 February 1998}}

Allcroft had several stories published in a magazine when she was 15.{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Scott |title='Shining Time', 'Mumfie' storybook TV at its best |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eHlGAAAAIBAJ&dq=britt+allcroft+-%22Little+Engines+Can+Do+Big+Things%22&pg=PA37&article_id=7283,7373618 |access-date=3 February 2025 |agency=The Washington Post |publisher=The Daily Gazette |date=31 December 1995}} At the age of 16, she left school{{cite news |last1=Mooallam |first1=Jon |title=Britt Allcroft, Creator of 'Thomas the Tank Engine,' Dies at 81 |url=https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/television/britt-allcroft-dead-c9ec49af?st=Ep1wPN&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink |access-date=9 February 2025 |publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=28 January 2025}} 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.{{cite web|title=Britt Allcroft|url=https://www.buckinghamcovers.com/celebrities/view/613-britt-allcroft.php|website=buckinghamcovers.com|access-date=7 February 2018|archive-date=25 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190225161959/https://www.buckinghamcovers.com/celebrities/view/613-britt-allcroft.php|url-status=dead}}

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.{{cite book | last = Sibley | first = Brian | author-link = Brian Sibley | title = The Thomas the Tank Engine Man | publisher = Heinemann | year = 1995 | pages = 291 | isbn = 0-434-96909-5}}

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.{{cite news |last1=Muir |first1=Ellie |title=Britt Allcroft, Thomas the Tank Engine series creator, dies aged 81 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/britt-allcroft-thomas-the-tank-engine-dead-b2673177.html |access-date=4 January 2025}}

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.{{cite web| title =The Magic Adventures of Mumfie| url =http://www.mumfieand.me/britts-page| access-date =30 September 2012| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20121105074924/http://www.mumfieand.me/britts-page| archive-date =5 November 2012| df =dmy-all}} 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.{{cite web| author1 = Jim Gratton | author2 = Ryan Healy | title = Magic Railroad Characters | publisher = Sodor Island Forums – Magic Railroad Mini-Website | url = http://www.sodor-island.net/themagicrailroadminisite/mrcharacters.html | access-date = 17 February 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130222053239/http://www.sodor-island.net/themagicrailroadminisite/mrcharacters.html|archive-date=22 February 2013}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2000/sep/08/2|title=Britt Allcroft quits as Thomas flops|date=8 September 2000|work=The Guardian|access-date=11 December 2016|first=John|last=Cassy}}

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.{{cite web| title=Britt's Biography |url=http://www.brittallcroftproductions.com/bio.html/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030417144238/http://www.brittallcroftproductions.com/bio.html/ |access-date=6 January 2025|archive-date=17 April 2003 }}

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.{{Cite news|last=Chappell |first=Peter |date=29 January 2024 |title=Thomas the Tank Engine's TV friend lets off steam over American reboot |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/1c595031-56fd-42ee-821c-dae8efaad171 |access-date=6 January 2025}}

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.{{Cite tweet|number=1729285222590496829 |user=cartycinema |access-date=26 February 2025|title=On April 1st 2022, I had the honor of interviewing Britt Allcroft for @unlikelyfandom.}} She appeared at the film's premiere along with Carty and Shining Time Station co-creator Rick Siggelkow.{{Cite news|last=Matsuoka |first=Sayaka |date=11 January 2024 |title=An Unlikely Fandom: UNCG alum's documentary delves into the niche, but deep, Thomas the Tank Engine fandom |url=https://triad-city-beat.com/an-unlikely-fandom/ |access-date=2 January 2025 |work=Triad City Beat}}

Personal life and death

Allcroft married television producer Angus Wright in 1973. They had a son and daughter and divorced in 1997.{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/thomas-the-tank-engine-firm-to-float-1.97155|title='Thomas the Tank Engine' firm to float|newspaper=The Irish Times}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/oct/06/citynews.broadcasting1|title=Thomas the Tank Engine fuels HIT profits hike|date=6 October 2003|first=Owen|last=Gibson|work=The Guardian}}

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?"{{cite web |title=Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends TV Series Creator Says, 'No Circuses With Animals for My Family' |url=https://www.peta.org/features/thomas-tank-engine-friends-tv-series-creator-says-circuses-animals-family/ |website=People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)|date=9 April 2009 }}

Allcroft died on 25 December 2024 in Los Angeles, California, eleven days after her 81st birthday.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/03/arts/britt-allcroft-thomas-tank-engine-dead.html|title=Britt Allcroft, Who Brought Thomas the Tank Engine to TV, Dies at 81|work=The New York Times|author=Isabella Kwai|date=3 January 2025|access-date=3 January 2025}} Her death was announced by filmmaker Brannon Carty on Twitter on 3 January 2025.{{cite tweet|number=1875044512717750626 |user=cartycinema |accessdate=4 January 2025 |title=It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of Britt Allcroft.}}{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/britt-allcroft-dead-thomas-friends-creator-tank-engine-train-2009033|title=Britt Allcroft, Thomas and Friends Creator, Dead at 81|work=Newsweek|author1=Alfred Joyner|author2=Billie Schwab Dunn|date=3 January 2025|access-date=3 January 2025}}

Filmography

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

References

External links

{{IMDb name|id=0020150|name=Britt Allcroft}}
{{cite web|url=http://www.brittallcroftproductions.com/ |title=Britt Allcroft Productions |access-date=11 November 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228112154/http://www.brittallcroftproductions.com/ |archive-date=28 December 2008 }}
[https://web.archive.org/web/20111105122815/http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/thomas/authors.html Article on Allcroft and Gullane/HIT]
{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111105122815/http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/thomas/authors.html#allcroft |date=5 November 2011 |title=Random House – About The Authors – Britt Allcroft }}

Category:1943 births

Category:20th-century English actresses

Category:20th-century English women writers

Category:20th-century English writers

Category:21st-century English actresses

Category:21st-century English women writers

Category:21st-century English writers

Category:Actresses from Worthing

Category:English children's writers

Category:English company founders

Category:English expatriate actresses in the United States

Category:English film directors