List of Thomas & Friends voice actors facts for kids

Thomas & Friends is a popular British TV show for children. It started way back on October 9, 1984, and is based on the The Railway Series books by Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry.

For many years, until 2008, a single narrator did all the voices for every character! But that changed when the show switched to full CGI animation in 2009. From then until 2021, many different actors joined to give unique voices to all your favorite engines and friends.

Meet the Voices Behind the Characters

When Thomas & Friends started using CGI in 2009, a whole new team of actors came on board to bring the characters to life with their own voices. This made the show even more exciting! Here are some of the actors who voiced the main characters and other important friends.

Main Engine Voices

• Joseph May (US) and John Hasler (UK) both voiced the main character, Thomas, from The Adventure Begins movie through Season 24.
• Keith Wickham voiced many characters, including Edward, Henry, and Gordon in the UK version for a long time. He also voiced Salty, Den, Norman, and Stafford.
• Kerry Shale voiced Henry, Gordon, and James in the US version for many seasons. He also voiced Harold the helicopter.
• Nigel Pilkington became the voice of Percy in the UK from Season 19 onwards.
• Rob Rackstraw voiced James in the US from The Adventure Begins and in the UK from "Tit for Tat" onwards. He also voiced Donald, Flynn, and the Troublesome Trucks.
• Ben Small voiced Thomas in the UK and Stanley and Charlie in the US for several seasons.
• Martin Sherman voiced Thomas and Percy in the US for many years, from Hero of the Rails through Season 18.

Other Important Character Voices

• Teresa Gallagher voiced many female characters like Emily, Lady Hatt, Mavis, and Annie and Clarabel in the UK. She also voiced Belle and Frieda.
• Jules de Jongh voiced Emily, Mavis, and Lady Hatt in the US.
• William Hope voiced Edward and Toby in the US. He also voiced Whiff, Bash, and Rocky.
• Steven Kynman voiced Porter, Jack, Duck, and Ryan in both the UK and US versions for many seasons.
• Lucy Montgomery voiced Marion, Lexi, Hannah, and Carly.
• Tina Desai voiced the beautiful Indian engine, Ashima.
• Togo Igawa voiced the wise Japanese engine, Hiro.
• Yvonne Grundy voiced the friendly Kenyan engine, Nia.
• Matt McCooey voiced the super-fast Japanese bullet train, Kenji.
• Dominique Moore voiced the smart inventor, Ruth.
• Tracy-Ann Oberman voiced the sassy railcar, Daisy.
• Maggie Ollerenshaw voiced Henrietta, Toby's faithful coach.
• Tom Stourton voiced Duncan, Rex, Terence, and Alfie.
• Nicola Stapleton voiced the cheerful pink engine, Rosie, from Season 21 onwards.

Narrators: The Storytellers

Before the characters had their own voices, the show relied on a narrator to tell all the stories and speak for every character. Over the years, some famous people have been the voice of Thomas & Friends.

Actor(s)	Region	Years	Notes
Ringo Starr	UK/US	1984–90	The very first narrator for the first two seasons. He was also Mr. Conductor on Shining Time Station.
George Carlin	US	1991–96	Narrated Seasons 3 and 4 in the US and re-recorded the first two seasons. He was also Mr. Conductor.
Michael Angelis	UK	1991–2012	The longest-serving narrator for the UK, covering Seasons 3 through 16 and several movies.
Alec Baldwin	US	1999–2003	Narrated Seasons 5 and 6 in the US and played Mr. Conductor in Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
Michael Brandon	US	2004–12	Narrated Seasons 7 through 16 in the US and several movies.
Pierce Brosnan	UK/US	2008	Narrated The Great Discovery movie and some early versions of Season 12 episodes, but his narrations for the series were not fully released.
Mark Moraghan	UK/US	2013–17	Narrated Seasons 17 through 21 and many movies, including King of the Railway and The Great Race.
John Hasler	UK	2018–21	Became a narrator for Seasons 22-24, also voicing Thomas.
Joseph May	US	2018–21	Became a narrator for Seasons 22-24, also voicing Thomas.

Thomas and the Magic Railroad Voices

Thomas and the Magic Railroad was a special movie released in 2000. It had its own unique set of voice actors for the characters.

Actor/Actress	Role(s)
Eddie Glen	Thomas
Keith Scott	Diesel 10
Neil Crone	Gordon, Splatter
Kevin Frank	Henry, Dodge, Bertie, Harold
Britt Allcroft	Lady
Susan Roman	James
Linda Ballantyne	Percy
Colm Feore	Toby
Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner	Annie and Clarabel