Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Britt Allcroft is the multi- award-winning creator of a trio of children's entertainment produced in the 1980s and 1990s: "Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends", (now retitled "Thomas and Friends"), "Shining Time Station" (with co-creator Rick Siggelkow) and "Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie".
She was born Hilary Mary Allcroft, in Worthing, England and, at 16, changed her name to Britt as her career in British radio and TV gained momentum. She went on to create a string of shows for the BBC and ITV networks, including "Moon Clue Game", "Get it, Got it, Good", "Dance Crazy", "Keepsakes" and "Mothers by Daughters" . She worked in live theatre staging shows at the London Palladium and Drury Lane Theatres.
In 1979, Allcroft was making a five-minute film for the Central Office of Information about the resurgence of interest in steam railways. One inspiration for the film was A Guide to the Steam Railways of Britain, a book compiled by the Rev. W. Awdry and Dr Christopher Cook, and published by Eric Marriott, the former editor of The Railway Series. As Awdry would be taking part in the programme, Allcroft was prompted to read some of the volumes of the Railway Series, for the first time. She said: "it really didn't take me long to become intrigued by the characters and the relationships between them and the simplicity of the stories. I was equally intrigued by the illustrations, the landscape in them and the nostalgia they invoked." She met Awdry, saying she wanted to make a TV series, based on his stories. Although Awdry was initially reluctant, a deal was eventually done It took Britt three years to raise the finance and find all the people who could make her dream come true. The first episode of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, was aired in the UK in September 1984.
In 1984 she co-founded the Britt Allcroft Company with her then husband, Angus Wright, formulating cover of all merchandising and television rights in Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends. The company went public in 1996 and was renamed Gullane Entertainment.
Once Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends had become a critical and commercial success in the UK, Allcroft and her production company looked to promote the brand in North America. As the Thomas films were only 5 minutes long, initially, the company found it difficult in placing the series in the USA, as generally, the networks preferred 30 minute formats and so in 1988 the Britt Allcroft Company teamed up with PBS Station WNET in New York to produce and distribute Shining Time Station, where every episode of the show would include a couple episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.
She wrote and directed the movie "Thomas and the Magic Railroad", released in 2000, as well as providing the voice for the character Lady. The film was not a critical success, and Allcroft resigned in September 2000. Her resignation followed many years of internal stress within the company. In 2007, news surfaced on a Thomas fan site that the released version of the Thomas movie was a drastically edited version of Allcroft's original script and shot film - in effect, the claim was that production of the film had been taken out of her hands.
Gullane was subsequently acquired in 2003 by Hit Entertainment, which was taken over by Apax Partners in 2005.
Wright and Allcroft are divorced.
Britt Allcroft is now living and working in Santa Monica, California. She re-acquired Mumfie from HiT Entertainment in 2008. She is on the advisory council of Southern California Public Radio and the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Britt Allcroft, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
all 78
Movies 70
Writer 60
Producer 11
TV Shows 8
Creator 3
Director 2
Down the Mine (2023)
Thomas & Friends: The Mystery of Lookout Mountain (2022)
Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go - Time for Teamwork! (2022)
Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends (2022)
Thomas & Friends: Race for the Sodor Cup (2021)
Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go! (2021)
Thomas & Friends: Marvelous Machinery (2020)
Thomas e Seus Amigos - A Locomotiva Real (2020)
Thomas e Seus Amigos - O Mundo do Amanhã (2020)
Thomas e Seus Amigos - Uma Nova Chegada (2020)
Thomas & Friends: Steam Team to the Rescue (2019)
Thomas & Friends: Digs & Discoveries (2019)
Thomas E Seus Amigos Todos os trilhos levam a Roma (2019)
Thomas E Seus Amigos Minas do Mistério (2019)
Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! The Movie (2018)
Thomas & Friends: Christmas on Sodor (2017)
Thomas & Friends: Journey Beyond Sodor - The Movie (2017)
Thomas & Friends: Extraordinary Engines (2017)
Thomas & Friends: Full Steam To The Rescue! (2016)
Thomas & Friends: Tinsel on the Tracks (2016)
Thomas & Friends: The Great Race (2016)
Thomas & Friends: Start Your Engines! (2016)
Thomas & Friends - Tales from the Rails (2015)
Thomas & Friends: Tales on the Rails (2015)
Thomas & Friends: Thomas' Christmas Carol (2015)
Thomas & Friends: Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure: The Movie (2015)
Thomas & Friends: Whale of a Tale and Other Sodor Adventures (2015)
Thomas and Friends: The Adventure Begins (2015)
Thomas & Friends: Tale of the Brave: The Movie (2014)
Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets (2014)
Thomas & Friends: King of the Railway (2013)
Thomas & Friends: Animals Aboard! (2013)
Thomas & Friends: Sticky Situations (2012)
Thomas & Friends: A Very Thomas Christmas (2012)
Thomas & Friends: Blue Mountain Mystery - The Movie (2012)
Thomas and Friends: Up Up & Away! (2012)
Thomas & Friends: Day of the Diesels - The Movie (2011)
Thomas & Friends: Thomas in Charge! (2011)
Thomas & Friends: Splish, Splash, Splosh! (2010)
Thomas & Friends: Misty Island Rescue (2010)
Thomas & Friends: Creaky Cranky (2010)
Thomas & Friends: Hero of the Rails - The Movie (2009)
Thomas & Friends: New Friends For Thomas & Other Adventures (2009)
Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery - The Movie (2008)
Thomas & Friends - Mud Glorious Mud (2008)
Thomas & Friends: Ultimate Christmas (2007)
Thomas & Friends: Percy's Ghostly Trick & Other Thomas Stories (2007)
Thomas & Friends: Come Ride the Rails (2006)
Thomas and Friends: Thomas' Halloween Adventures (2006)
Thomas & Friends: On Site with Thomas and Other Adventures (2006)
Jack and the Sodor Construction Company (2006)
Thomas & Friends - Thomas, Percy & the Dragon and Other Stories (2006)
Thomas & Friends: Calling All Engines! (2005)
Thomas & Friends: The Early Years (2004)
Thomas & Friends: Thomas and the Jet Engine (2004)
Thomas & Friends: Best of Gordon (2004)
Thomas & Friends: James and the Red Balloon (2003)
Thomas & Friends: Thomas' Christmas Wonderland (2002)
Thomas & Friends: Races, Rescues and Runaways and Other Thomas Adventures (2002)
Thomas & Friends: Best Of James (2002)
Thomas & Friends: Best Of Thomas (2001)
Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000)
Thomas & Friends: Spills & Chills (2000)
10 Years of Thomas & Friends (1999)
Shining Time Station: Second Chances (1995)
Shining Time Station: One of the Family (1995)
The Thomas The Tank Engine Man (1995)
Shining Time Station: Once Upon a Time (1995)
Mumfie's Quest The Movie (1994)
Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift (1990)
Thomas & Friends: Thomas Gets Tricked (1990)
Shining Time Station (1989)
Thomas & Friends (1984)
Thomas & Friends: On the Go With Thomas
The Adventures of Thomas
The Adventures of Captain Pugwash
Magic School & Friends
Thomas and Friends: My First Thomas with The Fat Controller
Ratings
Information
Known ForProduction
GenderFemale
Birthday1943-12-14 (80 years old)
Birth PlaceWorthing, United Kingdom
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom
ResidencesVentura County, United States of America
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