Thomas the Tank Engine became a household name thanks to the long-running children's TV series Thomas & Friends. Now, just a few years after the show went off the air, its creator Britt Allcroft has died at the age of 81.
Allcroft's death was announced by filmmaker Brannon Carty, the director of the 2023 documentary An Unlikely Fandom: The Impact of Thomas the Tank Engine.
"It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of Britt Allcroft. The Allcroft-Wright family has asked me to bring this news to the Thomas fandom," Carty wrote on X. "Britt was an adoring mother and wife. A visionary producer. She brought so much joy and happiness to people everywhere during her time on Earth."
"Over the years of knowing Britt, we developed a close connection," he continued. "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," Carty concluded, noting that her family would love for fans to make a donation to their local ASPCA chapter in her name. "While I am devastated by her passing, we can all find comfort in the certainty that her legacy will endure forever through Thomas and his fans around the world."
It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of Britt Allcroft.
— carty™ (@cartycinema) January 3, 2025
The Allcroft-Wright family has asked me to bring this news to the Thomas fandom. A full obituary will be released in the London Times later today. The family is currently in mourning and asks that… pic.twitter.com/LSFq8VL7jK
Allcroft produced a number of British television shows in the 1970s before securing the rights to Wilbert Awdry's Railway Series books, which featured the beloved Thomas the Tank Engine. She formed the Britt Allcroft Company with her husband, fellow TV producer Angus Wright, and spent years raising the funds to produce the first 26 episodes of what was then called Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. The series premiered in 1984 and ran for nearly four decades before concluding in 2021.
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According to Carty, Allcroft was working on a book at the time of her death. The fate of those writings remains unknown.
