Britt Allcroft | |
|---|---|
 Allcroft with a picture ofThomas the Tank Engine in 2023 | |
| Born | Hilary Mary Allcroft Coote[1] (1943-12-14)14 December 1943 Worthing,West Sussex, England |
| Died | 25 December 2024(2024-12-25) (aged 81) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1964–2024 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Britt Allcroft (bornHilary Mary Allcroft Coote;[1] 14 December 1943 – 25 December 2024) was an English screenwriter, producer, director, and voice actress. She adaptedWilbert Awdry'sThe Railway Series in the form of the children's television seriesThomas the Tank Engine & Friends (later re-titledThomas & Friends). She createdShining Time Station (with Rick Siggelkow),Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales, andMagic Adventures of Mumfie. She also wrote, co-produced, and directed the filmThomas and the Magic Railroad (2000).
Allcroft was born Hilary Mary Allcroft Coote inWorthing,West Sussex,[2] on 14 December 1943.[3] Allcroft was raised in a modest household without a car or television during her early years.[4] 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.[5]
Allcroft had several stories published in a magazine when she was 15.[6] At the age of 16, she left school[7] 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 theBBC andITV during the 1970s and 1980s, includingMoon Clue Game,Dance Crazy andKeepsakes.Mothers By Daughters, produced forChannel 4, was broadcast byPBS in the United States. She also worked in theatre, staging shows at theLondon Palladium andDrury Lane Theatres.[8]
While making a documentary about British steam locomotives in August 1979, Allcroft met the ReverendWilbert Awdry, author of the children's book seriesThe 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-publishersKaye & Ward.[9]
In 1980, she co-founded Britt Allcroft Railway Productions (later known asThe Britt Allcroft Company) with her husband, television producerAngus Wright. It took Allcroft four years to raise the funding for, and create, afirst series of 26 episodes in collaboration with directorDavid Mitton. The first two episodes ofThomas the Tank Engine & Friends were aired together for the first time on British television on 9 October 1984, with narration byRingo Starr and music by Mike O'Donnell andJunior Campbell.[10]
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 createdShining Time Station, a live-action children's sitcom fronted by the magical character of the miniature Mr. Conductor, who introduced twoThomas stories in each half-hour programme.Shining Time Station won a number of awards and significantly increased the popularity of theThomas media franchise in the US.Shining Time Station lasted until 1995 and, in 1996, she created the short spin-off seriesMr. Conductor's Thomas Tales.
In 1994, Allcroft followedThomas the Tank Engine & Friends andShining Time Station with the cartoon-animatedMagic 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.[11] In 2008, several years after she left her original company, Allcroft revived theMumfie library, and areboot series eventually aired in 2021.
Allcroft wrote and directedThomas and the Magic Railroad, a film based on theThomas franchise, that was released in 2000. She also provided the voice of the characterLady.[12] The film was a critical and commercial failure. Thepoor box-office performance of the film caused Allcroft to resign as deputy chairwoman of her company in September 2000.[13]
Allcroft was an active member in theBritish Academy of Film and Television Arts and theSundance Film Institute. She was also a fellow of theInstitute of Directors.[14]
Allcroft had expressed her disdain with the 2021Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go cartoon series, which she had no creative control over, stating that thereboot lacked the "magic" of the original series.[15]
In 2023, a documentary titledAn Unlikely Fandom was released by filmmaker Brannon Carty, which centres around theThomas & Friendsadultfandom. Allcroft is featured in the documentary via both archival interview clips of her and interviews taken at her home in April 2022.[16] She appeared at the film's premiere along with Carty and Shining Time Station co-creator Rick Siggelkow.[17]
Allcroft married television producerAngus Wright in 1973. They had a son and daughter[7] and divorced in 1997.[18][19][20]
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?"[21]
Allcroft died on 25 December 2024 inLos Angeles,California, eleven days after her 81st birthday.[20] Her death was announced by filmmaker Brannon Carty onTwitter on 3 January 2025.[22][23]
| Year | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Producer | Actress | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Three Go Round | No | Yes | No | No | Presenter | Narrative script |
| 1967–1968 | Blue Peter[20] | 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 | |
| 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 |
| 1996 | Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales | No | Yes | Yes | No | 6 episodes | |
| 1996 | 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 |
Allcroft was born in 1943 in Worthing, a town on England's south coast.
Born on Dec. 14, 1943, in West Sussex, England, Hilary Mary Allcroft landed a job with the BBC when she was 19.
