Thomas and Friends facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Thomas & Friends
Also known as	Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (original title; series 1–6) Thomas & Friends (series 7–21) Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! (series 22–present)
Genre	Television series Format: Scale model (1984-2008) CGI (2008-2020) Flash animation (2021-present)
Created by	Britt Allcroft
Written by	Rev. W. Awdry (original; 1984–1995, 2015, 2017) Christopher Awdry (original; 1986, 1995) Britt Allcroft (1984–1998, 2000) David Mitton (1984–2002) Various (2002–present) Sharon Miller (2005–2012; script editor/head writer) Andrew Brenner (1991–92, 1998, 2013–2019; head writer) David Stoten (2020 - present; head writer)
Directed by	David Mitton (1984–2003) Steve Asquith (2002, 2004–2008) Greg Tiernan (2008–2012) David Baas (2013–2014) David Stoten (2014–present) Rob Silvestri (feature length specials 2013–14) Don Spencer (2014–2015) Dianna Basso (2015–present)
Voices of	See List of Thomas & Friends voice actors
Narrated by	Ringo Starr: UK: (1984–86)/US: (1989–90) Michael Angelis: UK: (1991–2012)/US: (2004; New Friends for Thomas and Other Adventures) George Carlin: US: (1991–95) Alec Baldwin: US: (1998–2002)/UK: (2000; Thomas and the Magic Railroad) Michael Brandon: US: (2003–2012) Pierce Brosnan: (2008; The Great Discovery) Mark Moraghan: (2013–17) John Hasler: UK: (2018–present) Joseph May: US: (2018–present)
Composer(s)	Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell (1984–2003) Robert Hartshorne (2004–15)</small Ed Welch (2004–08) Peter Hartshorne (2011–15) Chris Renshaw (2016–present) Oliver Davis (2016–2017)
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	24
No. of episodes	551 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Britt Allcroft (1984–1986, 2002) Angus Wright (1991–1998) Peter Urie (2002–2003) Jocelyn Stevenson (2003–2006) Christopher Skala (2007–2011) Marion Edwards (2009–2015) Lenora Hume (2009–2010) Karen Barnes (2011–2013) Kallan Kagan (2013–2017) Jeff Young (2013–2015) Steven Hecht (2013–2015) Michael Carrington (2013–2014) Christopher Keenan (2014–present) Edward Catchpole (2015) Marianne Culbert (2016) Kyle MacDougall (2016–present) Jamie LeClaire (2016–present) Phil LaFrance (2016–present)
Producer(s)	David Mitton (1984–1998) Robert D. Cardona (1984–1986) Britt Allcroft (1991–1998) Phil Fehrle (2002–2003) Simon Spencer (2004–2008) Nicole Stinn (2008–2012) Ian McCue (2011–2017) Halim Jabbour (2013) Robert Anderson (2013; 2015–2017) Brian Lynch (2013–2015) Jennifer Hill (2014–2015) Lynda Craigmyle (2016) Jane Sobol (2016) Tracy Blagdon (2016–present) Micaela Winter (2016–2018)
Production location(s)	Shepperton Studios (1984–2008) Nitrogen Studios (2008–2012) Arc Productions (2013–2015) Jam Filled Toronto (2016–2020) Nelvana (2021–present)
Editor(s)	Michael Dixon (1984) Rebecca de Burgh Mound (1986) John Wright (1991–2002) Kate Buckland (2003–2008) Kevin Pavlovic (2009–2012) Adam Garner (2013–2015) Gavin Ebedes (2014–present) Craig Barnikis (2015–2018)
Running time	5 minutes, 30 seconds (Series 1-7) 10 minutes (Series 8-12) 11 minutes (Series 13-present)
Production company(s)	Clearwater Features (1984–1986) Britt Allcroft Ltd./Britt Allcroft (Thomas) Ltd. (1984–1986) The Britt Allcroft Company/Gullane Entertainment (1991–2002) HIT Entertainment (2003–2016) Mattel Creations (2017–present)
Distributor	Various distributors
Release
Original network	ITV/ITV1 (UK, 1984–2006) Direct-to-video (Series 4-5) Nick Jr. (UK, 1999-2016) Nick Jr. Too (UK, 2006-2017) Channel 5 (UK, 2006-present) Cartoonito (UK, 2017–present) ABC Kids (AUS, 1984–present) FOUR (NZ, 2011–16) TVNZ 2 (NZ, 2016–present) PTV (US, 1989–98 [only as a segment on Shining Time Station]) PBS Kids (US, 2004–2017) Nick Jr. (US, 2017–2019) Netflix (US, 2020–present)
Picture format	4:3 576i (PAL) (SDTV) (filmed) (Series 1–5) 576i (PAL) (SDTV) (filmed) (Series 6–7) 576i (PAL) (SDTV) (video) (Series 8–10) 1080i (HDTV) (video) (Series 11–12) 1080p (HDTV) (CGI) (Series 13–present)
Audio format	Stereo (1984–1995) Dolby Surround (1998–2002) Dolby Digital 5.1 (2003–present)
Original release	9 October 1984 (1984-10-09) – present

Thomas & Friends is a popular British children's television series that started in October 1984. It was first called Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends. Later, it became Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!. The show is based on The Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher.

The main character is Thomas the Tank Engine, a friendly blue tank engine. The stories happen on the fictional Island of Sodor. On Sodor, there are two main railways. One is managed by Sir Topham Hatt, and Thomas works on this railway.

Main Characters of Thomas & Friends

The show is mostly about the different trains and people who live on the Island of Sodor. Since 2004, there have been eight main characters that you'll often see:

• Thomas the Tank Engine
• Edward the Blue Engine
• Henry the Green Engine
• Gordon the Big Engine
• James the Red Engine
• Percy the Small Engine
• Toby the Tram Engine
• Emily

Voice Actors and Narrators

Many talented actors bring the characters of Thomas & Friends to life. They provide the voices for all the engines and people on Sodor.

Current Voice Actors

Here are some of the main voice actors for the show's current episodes:

Show Narrators

The show has had several famous narrators who tell the stories. They help guide viewers through the adventures on Sodor.

• Ringo Starr (UK/US Series 1–2) from 1984–1986
• George Carlin (US Series 1–4) from 1984–1995
• Michael Angelis (UK Series 3–16/US Series 6-7) from 1991–2012
• Alec Baldwin (US Series 5–6) from 1998–2002
• Michael Brandon (US Series 7–16) from 2003–2012
• Pierce Brosnan (UK/US guest narrator for The Great Discovery) in 2008
• Mark Moraghan (UK/US Series 17–21) from 2013–2017

See also

In Spanish: Thomas y sus amigos para niños