Thomas and Friends facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Thomas & Friends |
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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 |
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Directed by |
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Voices of | See List of Thomas & Friends voice actors |
Narrated by |
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Composer(s) |
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Country of origin | United Kingdom |
No. of series | 24 |
No. of episodes | 551 (list of episodes) |
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Executive producer(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Editor(s) |
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Distributor | Various distributors |
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Original release | 9 October 1984 | – present
Thomas & Friends (originally known as Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends or simply Thomas the Tank Engine; later called Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!) is a British children's television series. It was first broadcast on CITV in October 1984. It is based on The Railway Series books by the Rev. W. Awdry and his son, Christopher. The main character is Thomas the Tank Engine, a tank engine that is painted blue. The show takes place on the made-up island of Sodor. There are two main railways there. One of them is run by Sir Topham Hatt. The other one is a different size. Thomas runs on the main one (the one that is run by Sir Topham Hatt).
Contents
Characters
The show is mainly about the machines and people who populate the fictional Island of Sodor. Since 2004, the show has had eight main characters:
- 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
Cast
Voices
Actor | Region | Role(s) |
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John Hasler | UK | Thomas (The Adventure Begins onwards) |
UK/US | Rheneas (Season 20 onwards) | |
Joseph May | US | Thomas (The Adventure Begins onwards) |
Christopher Ragland | US | Percy (Series 19 onwards) and Trevor (Season 20 onwards) |
UK/US | Troublesome Trucks (The Adventure Begins onwards) | |
David Bedella | US | Victor and The Mayor of Sodor |
UK/US | Victor (Blue Mountain Mystery onwards) and The Cuban Man | |
Hugh Bonneville | UK/US | Merlin |
Darren Boyd | UK/US | Theo |
Jonathan Broadbent | UK/US | Bill & Ben, and A Slip Coach |
Jamie Campbell Bower | UK/US | Skiff |
Nathan Clarke | UK/US | Alfie |
Olivia Colman | UK/US | Marion |
Sophie Colquhoun | UK/US | Frankie |
Tina Desai | UK/US | Ashima |
Jonathan Forbes | UK/US | Connor |
Teresa Gallagher | UK | Emily, Rosie, Mavis, Lady Hatt, Stephen Hatt (Diesel's Special Delivery), Bridget Hatt, The Duchess of Boxford, Bridget Hatt's Friends, The Teacher, The Laundry Lady, The School Children, The Girl in Red Dress, The Blond-hair Boy and Some Passengers |
UK/US | Belle, Mavis (Series 17 onwards), Annie & Clarabel, Lady Hatt (Series 17 onwards), Judy and The Lady with the Big Hat | |
Bob Golding | UK/US | Stephen, Sidney and Some Dock Workers |
Mike Grady | UK/US | Sir Robert Norramby |
Rasmus Hardiker | UK/US | Philip |
William Hope | US | Edward, Toby, Whiff, Bash, Rocky, Stephen Hatt, Farmer McColl, The Duke of Boxford, The Maithwaite Stationmaster (Double Trouble and Wonky Whistle only), Farmer Trotter, The Dock Manager, and The Wellsworth Station Worker |
UK/US | Bert (Series 16 onwards) and A Railway Inspector | |
Jim Howick | UK/US | Hurricane |
Togo Igawa | UK/US | Hiro |
Rufus Jones | UK/US | Flying Scotsman |
Jules de Jongh | US | Emily, Rosie, Mavis (Hero of the Rails - Blue Mountain Mystery), Lady Hatt, Bridget Hatt, The Duchess of Boxford, Bridget Hatt's Friends, The Teacher, The Laundry Lady, The Blond-haired Boy and The School Children |
UK/US | Alicia Botti | |
Steven Kynman | UK | Porter, Jack, and The Dock Manager (Tale of the Brave only) |
US | Butch (Series 17 onwards) | |
UK/US | Duck, Peter Sam, Dart (Series 17 onwards), Paxton, A Slip Coach, and A Railway Inspector | |
Michael Legge | UK/US | Luke |
Clive Mantle | UK/US | Gator |
David Menkin | US | Porter and Jack |
Colin McFarlane | UK/US | Bulgy and Beresford |
Joe Mills | UK/US | Donald (Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure and The Great Race only), Douglas, Oliver, Toad, Skiff and The Welsh Bird Watcher |
Lucy Montgomery | UK/US | Lexi, Hannah and Carly |
Maggie Ollerenshaw | UK/US | Henrietta |
Rebecca O'Mara | UK/US | Caitlin and A Slip Coach |
Nigel Pilkington | UK | Trevor |
Miranda Raison | UK/US | Millie and The Knapford Station Speaker (Missing Gator) |
Rob Rackstraw | UK/US | Donald (Season 20 onwards), Bradford, Monty and Flynn (Season 19 onwards, excluding Toad and the Whale) |
UK | Toby (season 19 onwards) | |
US | James (The Adventure Begins onwards) and Stanley (Season 20 onwards) | |
Eddie Redmayne | UK/US | Ryan |
John Schwab | UK/US | Vinnie |
Peter Andre | UK/US | Ace |
Yvonne Grundy | UK/US | Nia |
Rachael Miller | UK/US | Rebecca |
Dan Li | UK/US | Yong Bao |
Kerry Shale | US | Henry, Gordon, James (Hero of the Rails - Season 18), Dash, Scruff, Harold, Kevin, Sir Topham Hatt (Hero of the Rails - Season 18), Mr. Percival, Sir Lowham Hatt, The Maithwaite Stationmaster (Time For a Story and A Blooming Mess only), A Railway Inspector, The Railway Coal Inspector, The Zoo Keeper, and Some Workmen |
UK | The Zoo Keeper (Not Now, Charlie! only) | |
UK/US | Diesel (UK, Season 13 onwards, US, season 19), 'Arry, Bert (Series 14 - 15), Max, Beau, and Some groaning passengers (Calm Down Caitlin) | |
Tom Stourton | UK/US | Duncan, Rex and Terence |
Tim Whitnall | UK | The Deputy Minister |
UK/US | Timothy, Mike, Oliver (Excavator), Jerome, Duke and Reg | |
Keith Wickham | UK | Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, Percy, Whiff, Dash, Harold, The Mayor of Sodor, The Thin Controller, Sir Lowham Hatt, Mr. Bubbles, The Railway Coal Inspector, The Man at the Fire, The Wellsworth Station Worker, The Wellsworth Stationmaster, Some Workmen, Some Passengers, Gator's Driver, A Steamworks Worker, A Groundsman, and A Postman |
UK/US | Harvey, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Bert (Arlesdale Railway), The Fat Controller (UK, Season 13, US, The Adventure Begins onwards), Salty, Den, Norman, Stafford, Bertie (Series 17 onwards), Captain, Dowager Hatt, A Railway Inspector, The Great Composer, The Maron Station Speaker, The Fat Controller's Assistant, Thomas' Guard, The Grumpy Passenger, and Father Christmas | |
Robert Wilfort | UK/US | Samson |
Matt Wilkinson | UK | Spencer, Stanley, Charlie, Bash, Scruff, Victor (Hero of the Rails - Series 16), Rocky, Cranky, Butch (Series 16 onwards), Kevin, Stephen Hatt, Farmer McColl, The Duke of Boxford, The Photographer, The Maithwaite Stationmaster, Farmer Trotter, The Knapford Stationmaster, The Bird Watcher, The Dock Manager, A Railway Inspector, Some Dock Workers, The Island Inspector, The Sodor Search & Rescue Centre Manager, The Blue Mountain Quarry Workman, and The Zoo Keeper |
UK/US | Diesel 10, Rusty, Winston, and Merrick | |
Glenn Wrage | US | Spencer, Charlie (Series 13 - 15), Ferdinand, Cranky, Butch (Series 15 - 16), The Sodor Search & Rescue Centre Manager, Gator's Driver, and A Steamworks Worker |
Actor | Region | Role(s) |
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Martin Sherman | US | Thomas (Hero of the Rails - Series 18), Percy (Hero of the Rails - Series 18), Diesel (King of the Railway - Series 18), and some children (Toby and Bash) |
Ben Small | UK | Thomas (Hero of the Rails - Series 18), Toby (Hero of the Rails - Series 18), and Ferdinand (Misty Island Rescue - Series 16) |
US | Stanley (Series 15 - 18) and Charlie (Series 16 - 18) | |
UK/US | Rheneas (Blue Mountain Mystery - Series 18), Flynn (Series 17, only), Troublesome Trucks (Series 16 - 18) and Owen (Blue Mountain Mystery - Series 18) | |
Michael Brandon | US | Diesel (Series 13 - Blue Mountain Mystery), Mr. Bubbles (Series 13 - 15), and The Knapford Stationmaster (Series 13 only) |
Rupert Degas | UK | Butch (Series 15 only) |
UK/US | Diesel 10 (Misty Island Rescue; original cut only), Dart (Series 15 - 16), Flynn (Series 15 - 16), and Bertie (Series 15 - 16) |
Narrators
- Ringo Starr (UK/US Series 1–2) (1984–1986)
- George Carlin (US Series 1–4) (1984–1995)
- Michael Angelis (UK Series 3–16/US Series 6-7) (1991–2012)
- Alec Baldwin (US Series 5–6) (1998–2002)
- Michael Brandon (US Series 7–16/re-dubbed six episodes, Series 6) (2003–2012)
- Pierce Brosnan (UK/US "guest narrator" for DVD special The Great Discovery) (2008)
- Mark Moraghan (UK/US Series 17–21/re-dubbed Series 13-15) (2013–2017)
See also
In Spanish: Thomas y sus amigos para niños