Thomas (the Tank Engine) & Friends is a British children's television series, first broadcast on the ITV network on 9 October 1984. It is based on The Railway Series of books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher Awdry.
Until 2008, all characters were voiced by the narrator. Individual voices were given to the characters following the switch to full CGI animation in 2009 until the series ended in 2021.
Cast
Voices
| Actor/Actress | Region | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph May | US | Thomas the Tank Engine | The Adventure Begins though Season 24. |
| John Hasler | UK | ||
| US/UK | Rheneas | Series 20 only. | |
| Tim Bain | Aiden, Madeleine's father, Some Passengers ("Laid Back Shane"), and Some Workmen ("Laid Back Shane") | ||
| David Bedella | Victor, Carlos (The Great Race only), The Mayor of Sodor, and the Cuban Man | ||
| Sanjeev Bhaskar | Shankar, the Indian Actor, the Indian Announcer, and the Indian Judge | ||
| Sheena Bhattessa | Noor Jehan, the Indian Troublesome Trucks, Charubala, and a Monkey | ||
| Jamie Campbell Bower | Skiff | ||
| Flaminia Cinque | Ester and Dame Bella Canto | ||
| Chipo Chung | Hong-Mei, the African Troublesome Trucks, and Various African Voices | ||
| Laura Cucurullo | Marcia, Cassia (series 23 onwards), and a Brazilian Musician | ||
| Tina Desai | Ashima and The Indian Fashion Designer | ||
| Rupert Degas | UK/US | Diesel 10 (original workprints only), Flynn, Dart, Den (Fiery Flynn), Bertie | Season 15 through 16 |
| UK | Butch | Season 15 only | |
| Jules de Jongh | US | Emily, Mavis (Season 13–16), Lady Hatt, The Duchess of Boxford, Stephen Hatt ("Diesel's Special Delivery"), Bridget Hatt, Bridget Hatt's Friends, Some Children, Little Boy in White and Light Blue Stripes Shirt and Red Shorts, The School Children, Teacher, The Laundry Lady, Little Girl in the Red Dress, The Ginger Haired Boy ("Pop Goes Thomas","Diesel's Special Delivery","Emily and Dash","Percy the Snowman","Emily's Winter Party Special", and "Pouty James"), The Blonde Haired Boy (Season 15 and 18), and The Blonde Haired Girl | |
| US/UK | Emily ("4-D: Bubbling Boilers" and the singing voice for "The Great Race" only), Caitlin (Season 20 onwards), and Allicia Botti | ||
| Jonathan Forbes | Connor | ||
| Anna Francolini | Gina, Some Passengers (All Tracks Lead to Rome), and Some Children (Mines of Mystery) (Season 23-onwards) | ||
| Teresa Gallagher | UK | Emily, Lady Hatt (Season 13, "Day of the Diesels" and Season 15), Mavis (Season 13–16), The Duchess of Boxford, Stephen Hatt ("Diesel's Special Delivery"), Bridget Hatt, Bridget Hatt's friends, the teacher, the laundry lady, little boy in light white and light blue stripes shirt and red shorts, some children, the school children, little girl in the red dress, the blonde-hair girl, and the blonde-hair boy | |
| US | A blond-haired girl | "Very Important Sheep" | |
| A blonde-haired boy | "Very Important Sheep" only | ||
| UK/US | Belle, Frieda, Gina (The Great Race only), Mavis (FQC 1), Annie, Clarabel, Judy, Cassia (Big World! Big Adventures! only), The Duchess of Boxford ("Percy's Lucky Day" only), Lady Hatt ("The Afternoon Tea Express" only and Season 21 onwards), the teacher (Season 18 only), the ginger-hair boy, the shouting little boy, the lady with the big hat, some passengers, the Knapford Station speaker ("The Adventure Begins"), some children ("The Adventure Begins" onwards), the school children ("Lost Property"), Stephen Hatt, Bridget Hatt, the lady in the blue dress, the barrow fan ("Reds vs. Blues" and "Useful Railway"), Albert's wife ("Thomas the Babysitter" and "Unscheduled Stops"), the lady in spring green dress, the female puppet show entertainer, little girl in the turquoise dress with pink flowers, the lady in the white dress and gray vest, the lady in the white shirt, light brown skirt and hat, the lady in the grayish white shirt, blackish gray skirt, and white pearl necklace, the chubby little boy in dark green shirt and dark gray shorts, the lady in the yellow dress and hat, The Blonde Haired Girl, The Lady in Red and Indigo Hat and White Dress with Gray lines, Female Passengers, Madeleine's Mother, Brenda, and The Sodor Rangers | ||
| Bob Golding | Stephen, Sidney (series 17 onwards), Ivan, some dock workers ("Tale of the Brave"),a railway inspector ("Lost Property"), and Baz | ||
| Mike Grady | Sir Robert Norramby | ||
| Yvonne Grundy | Nia and Some Children (Forever and Ever) | ||
| Eluid Gabriel Porras | Carlos (Big World! Big Adventures! onwards), The Brazilian Tank Engine, Fernando, the Brazilian Troublesome Trucks, Emerson, the Brazilian Dock Manager (Big World! Big Adventures!), and the Crowd (Grudge Match) | ||
| Rasmus Hardiker | Bill, Philip and the Troublesome Trucks ("The Fastest Red Engine on Sodor" only) | ||
| UK | Monty | ||
| William Hope | US | Edward, Toby, Stephen Hatt ("Thomas and the Runaway Kite" only), Whiff, Bash, the Troublesome Trucks, Rocky, Farmer McColl, the Duke of Boxford, the blond-haired boy ("Merry Misty Island" and "The Way She Does It" only), the Maithwaite stationmaster ("Double Trouble" and "Wonky Whistle" only), the man at the fire ("Race to the Rescue"), the Dock Manager and the Wellsworth Station worker | |
| UK/US | Iron Bert (series 16 onwards), a railway inspector, a steamworks worker ("Wonky Whistle"), 2 farmhands ("Wonky Whistle"), a workman ("Toad and the Whale"), Passenger, and Farmer McColl ("Philip's Number" only) | ||
| Siu-see Hung | An An, the Chinese Woman, and Dr. Kim | ||
| Togo Igawa | Hiro | ||
| Shane Jacobson | Shane | ||
| Rufus Jones | Flying Scotsman | ||
| Harriet Kershaw | Darcy, Cleo, Jenny Packard, and a Kangaroo | ||
| Steven Kynman | UK | Porter, Jack, Racing Car #3 and the Dock Manager ("Tale of the Brave" only) | |
| US | Charlie | "The Great Race" only | |
| Butch | Series 17 to 24. | ||
| UK/US | Duck, Ryan (series 20 onwards), Dart (Season 17 onwards), Paxton ("Blue Mountain Mystery" onwards), Peter Sam, "The Third Slip Coach", a workman (Journey Beyond Sodor), a railway inspector (Season 17), the bird watcher ("Who's Geoffrey?"), and a Child | ||
| Francisco Labbe | Gustavo and a Brazilian Musician | ||
| Michael Legge | Luke | ||
| Dan Li | Yong Bao and the Chinese Railway Inspector | ||
| Windson Liong | Lin-Yong, Lei, the Male Chinese Breakdown Crane, the Chinese Guard, and The Chinese Men | ||
| Montserrat Lombard | Mia and Some Passengers | ||
| Monica Lopera | Gabriela | ||
| Abubakar Salim | Kwaku, the African Troublesome Trucks, Kobe, and Various African Voices | ||
| Richie Campbell | the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices | ||
| Akiya Henry | the African Troublesome Trucks and Various African Voices | ||
| Dona Adwera | Various African Voices | ||
| Su-Lin Looi | the Chinese Diesel | ||
| Antonio Magro | Stefano and the Italian Stationmaster | ||
| Tariro Mavondo | Ranger Jill | ||
| Genevieve McCarthy | Aubrey | ||
| Matt McCooey | Kenji | ||
| Elvis Who | The African Troublesome Trucks (Singing voices only) | ||
| Ian McCue | The Blue Sea Serpent, the second Tiger Hunter, and The Crown Thief #2 | ||
| Colin McFarlane | Bulgy, Beresford, Bertie's Driver (Unscheduled Stops), and Dr. Holyfield | ||
| David Menkin | UK/US | Porter (US; series 17 onwards/UK; "Pouty James" and "Cranky at the End of the Line" only), Stanley ("The Truth About Toby" only), Racing Car #3, and Jack (US only) | |
| Rachael Miller | UK/US | Rebecca, Angelique, Isla, The Lady with the Big Hat (Outback Thomas), The Teacher (Outback Thomas and Cyclone Thomas), some Passengers (Outback Thomas), The Lady in Chartreuse Dress, Madeleine, Prince Charles, and Dr. Hetty | |
| Joe Mills | Douglas, Oliver, Toad, the Welsh bird watcher ("Thomas and the Emergency Cable"), a Knapford Station yard workman ("Toad and the Whale"), and a Passenger ("Confusion Without Delay") | ||
| Lucy Montgomery | Marion, Lexi, the Troublesome Trucks, Hannah, Carly, and Cowgirls | ||
| Dominique Moore | Ruth | ||
| Mark Moraghan | Dexter | ||
| Vincenzo Nicoli | Lorenzo, Beppe, a Worker (Mines of Mystery), and the Passengers | ||
| Tracy-Ann Oberman | Daisy | Series 20 through Series 24 | |
| Maggie Ollerenshaw | Henrietta | ||
| Nikhil Parmar | Rajiv, the Indian Troublesome Trucks, and Grumpy Indian Stationmaster, and the Friendly Indian Stationmaster | ||
| Jass Patel | The Indian Concessions Worker | ||
| Nigel Pilkington | UK | Percy (Series 19 onwards; excluding "Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure"), and Trevor | |
| UK/US | A Passenger (Unscheduled Stops) | ||
| Rob Rackstraw | James (US; "The Adventure Begins" onwards/UK; "Tit for Tat" onwards), Donald (Season 20 onwards), Raul (The Great Race only), Axel, Étienne, Flynn (Season 19 onwards), Hugo, the Troublesome Trucks, Bradford, The Great Railway Show Announcer, some Passengers, The Bird Watcher ("The Railcar and the Coaches"), Fergus Duncan, The Welsh Bird Watcher ("Mike's Whistle"), The Thin Clergyman, The Red Sea Serpent, the first Tiger Hunter, The Film Crew Leader, Owen, the Crown Thief #1, Elephant Carer, Bernie, the Washdown Worker, and Professor Freidrich | ||
| UK | Toby | Season 19 onwards and Season 24 A New Arrival US only | |
| US | Stanley (Series 20 onwards, excluding Pouty James and Diesel Glows Away UK only) and Monty | ||
| Christopher Ragland | Percy (Season 19 onwards) and Trevor | ||
| US/UK | The Troublesome Trucks ("The Adventure Begins" onwards), Racing Car #4, some Cowboys, and a Passenger | ||
| Miranda Raison | Millie and the Knapford Station speaker | ||
| Kerry Shale | UK | Thomas and Spencer | "Hero of the Rails", originally |
| US | Henry, Gordon, James (US: "Hero of the Rails"-Season 18) Dash, Scruff, Harold, Max, Kevin, Sir Topham Hatt ("Hero of the Rails" – Season 18), Sir Lowham Hatt, Mr. Percival, Farmer Trotter, The Maithwaite stationmaster ("Time For a Story" and "A Blooming Mess"), a railway inspector, the photographer (Season 16), the railroad coal inspector, the zoo keeper and some workmen | ||
| UK/US | Flynn ("Toad and the Whale" only), Kevin ("Hasty Hannah" only), Diesel (US; series 19 onwards/UK; series 13 onwards), 'Arry, the Troublesome Trucks, some groaning passengers ("Calm Down Caitlin"), the man on the bridge, and Headkeeper Jack | ||
| John Schwab | Vinnie, Ulli, and a Bridlington Diesel | ||
| US | Stanley | Series 20 only, excluding "Saving Time" | |
| Martin Sherman | Thomas, Percy, Diesel (King of the Railway - Season 18) | Hero of the Rails through Season 18 | |
| Ben Small | UK/US | Rheneas, Flynn (Season 17 only), Owen and Troublesome Trucks | Season 16 through 18 |
| UK | Thomas, Toby and Ferdinand | ||
| US | Stanley and Charlie | Season 15 through 18 | |
| Nicola Stapleton | UK/US | Rosie | Season 21 onwards |
| Tom Stourton | Duncan, Rex, Terence, Alfie(Season 23-onwards), and The Fat Clergyman | ||
| Joe Swash | Sonny | ||
| Frederico Trujilo | Raul (series 23 onwards), Marcio, and a Brazilian Musician | ||
| Tim Whitnall | Timothy, Mike, Jerome, Oliver the Excavator, Reg, the Deputy Minister and some Workmen | ||
| US | The man in the hat | "Spencer's VIP" only | |
| UK | Max | ||
| Keith Wickham | Edward, Henry, Gordon, James ("Hero of the Rails"-"The Great Race"; excluding "Tit for Tat"), Percy ("Hero of the Rails"-"Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure"; excluding Series 19), Whiff, Dash, Harold, The Thin Controller, the railway coal inspector, the man at the fire, the Wellsworth Station Worker, the Fat Controller's Assistant, some Workmen, some Passengers, Gator's Driver, and a Steamworks Workman | ||
| UK/US | Harvey, Glynn, Salty, Den, Norman, Stafford, Skarloey, Sir Handel, Arlesdale Bert, Bertie, Captain, Sir Topham Hatt/The Fat Controller (UK; "Hero of the Rails"-Series 24/US; "The Adventure Begins"-Series 24), Dowager Hatt, Sir Lowham Hatt, Lord Callan, the photographer ("Wild Water Rescue"), a Railway Inspector, the Great Composer, the Maron Station Speaker, the Wellsworth Stationmaster, Thomas' Guard, the Grumpy Passenger, Father Christmas, the Groundsman, Tom Tipper, Gordon's driver ("The Adventure Begins"), James' guard ("The Adventure Begins"), a Knapford station worker ("The Adventure Begins"), some Workmen, some Signalmen, the dock manager ("Who's Geoffrey?" only), a Sodor search & rescue centre worker ("Toad and the Whale"), the policemen, a Diver ("Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure"), Some Passengers, Albert ("Thomas the Babysitter"), Mr. Bubbles, the Welsh Bird Watcher ("Sidney Sings and Three Steam Engines Gruff"), one of Dowager Hatt's friends ("Best Engine Ever" and "Sidney Sings"), the Museum Manager, the Male Puppet show Entertainer, Willie, Franz, the Station Announcer, a Child ("Gordon Gets the Giggles"), The Mainland Stationmaster, Thomas' Driver, Thomas' Fireman, and the Elderly Man. | ||
| Robert Wilfort | Samson and the Great Railway Show Judge ("The Great Race") | ||
| Matt Wilkinson | UK | Spencer, Stanley, Charlie, Bash, Scruff, Rocky, Cranky, Carter, Butch (Season 16 onwards), Kevin, Tony, Stephen Hatt ("Thomas and the Runaway Kite"), Farmer McColl, the Duke of Boxford, the photographer (series 16), the Maithwaite stationmaster, Farmer Trotter, the Knapford stationmaster, the bird watcher ("Henry's Good Deeds"), the blond-haired boy ("Merry Misty Island"), the dock manager, a railway inspector, some dock workers, the island inspector, the Sodor search & rescue centre manager, the Blue Mountain Quarry workman, the zoo keeper and the man with the hat | |
| UK/US | Ben, Diesel 10, Winston, Rusty, Merrick, Captain Joe, some workmen, Male Passengers, and The Man in Blueish Grey Shirt, Whitish Cream shorts, and Aquamarine hat | ||
| Glenn Wrage | US | Spencer, Ferdinand, Charlie (Season 13 - 15), Cranky, the Sodor search & rescue centre manager, Sir Topham Hatt's Assistant, Gator's driver and a Steamworks worker | |
| UK/US | Flynn (Toad and the Whale only) |
Thomas and the Magic Railroad voices
| Actor/Actress | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Eddie Glen | Thomas | |
| John Bellis | Originally | |
| Keith Scott | Diesel 10 | |
| Neil Crone | ||
| Gordon | ||
| Splatter | ||
| A tumbleweed | Uncredited | |
| Kevin Frank | Henry | |
| Dodge | ||
| Bertie | ||
| Harold | Originally had no lines | |
| Britt Allcroft | Lady | |
| Patrick Breen | Splatter and Dodge (Splodge) | Originally |
| Michael Angelis | James | |
| Susan Roman | ||
| Michael Angelis | Percy | Originally |
| Linda Ballantyne | ||
| Colm Feore | Toby | |
| Shelley-Elizabeth Skinner | Annie and Clarabel |
Narrators
| Actor(s) | Region | Years | Period | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seasons | Movies | Notes | |||
| Ringo Starr | UK | 1984–86 | The first 2 seasons | ||
| US | 1989–90 | Series 1 through 2. Narrated episodes on Shining Time Station as Mr. Conductor; re-recorded parts of narration at the request of PBS. | |||
| George Carlin | 1991–96 | Seasons 3 and 4 Re-dubbed The first 2 seasons |
Series 3 through 4; re-dubbed Series 1 and 2. Narrated episodes on Shining Time Station as Mr. Conductor. | ||
| Michael Angelis | US | 2002–04 | Seasons 6 and 7 | 2 episodes of Series 6 and 4 episodes of Series 7 only. | |
| UK | 1991–2012 | Seasons 3–16 | Calling All Engines; Hero of the Rails; Misty Island Rescue; Day of the Diesels; Blue Mountain Mystery | Series 3 through 16 | |
| Alec Baldwin | US | 1998–2002 | Seasons 5 and 6 | Thomas and the Magic Railroad (as Mr. Conductor) | Series 5, Thomas and the Magic Railroad, and Series 6 |
| Michael Brandon | 2003–12 | Seasons 7–16 Re-dubbed Season 6 |
Calling All Engines; Hero of the Rails; Misty Island Rescue; Day of the Diesels; Blue Mountain Mystery | Series 7 through 16 | |
| Pierce Brosnan | UK/US | 2008 | Original cuts of Season 12 | The Great Discovery | The Great Discovery, Series 12 (early workprints) |
| Mark Moraghan | 2013–17 | Series 17–21 Re-dubbed Series 13, 14 and 15 |
King of the Railway; Tale of the Brave; Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure; The Adventure Begins; The Great Race; Journey Beyond Sodor | King of the Railway through Journey Beyond Sodor | |
| John Hasler | UK | 2018–21 | Seasons 22, 23 and 24 | Big World! Big Adventures! through Series 24. As Thomas the Tank Engine. | |
| Joseph May | US | ||||
Timeline
Seasons
| Narrator(s) | Model Series: 1984–2008 | CGI Series: 2009–21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Series: 1984–2003 | New Series: 2004–08 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |
| Ringo Starr | UK/US | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michael Angelis | United Kingdom |
UK | United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
| US | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| George Carlin | US | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alec Baldwin | US | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michael Brandon | US | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pierce Brosnan | * | * | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mark Moraghan | US | United Kingdom/United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Hasler | United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joseph May | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Specials and films
| Narrator(s) | Model era: 2000–08 | CGI era: 2009–18 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas and the Magic Railroad 2000 |
Calling All Engines! 2005 |
The Great Discovery 2008 |
Hero of the Rails 2009 |
Misty Island Rescue 2010 |
Day of the Diesels 2011 |
Blue Mountain Mystery 2012 |
King of the Railway 2013 |
Tale of the Brave 2014 |
The Adventure Begins | Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure | The Great Race 2016 |
Journey Beyond Sodor 2017 |
Big World!, Big Adventures 2018 | |
| 2015 | ||||||||||||||
| Mara Wilson | Lily | |||||||||||||
| Alec Baldwin | Mr. C | |||||||||||||
| Michael Angelis | UK | Great Britain | ||||||||||||
| Michael Brandon | US | United States | ||||||||||||
| Gwyneth Paltrow | ||||||||||||||
| Pierce Brosnan | UK/US | |||||||||||||
| Mark Moraghan | United Kingdom/United States | |||||||||||||
- A green cell indicates the narrator who officially narrated the series.
- An orange cell indicates the narrator who re-narrated the series.
- A red cell indicates seasons and movies for which a narrator's role was cancelled.
* Pierce Brosnan narrated the original cut of Series 12, but withdrew from the series, and his narrations were left unreleased.
References
- John Hasler (19 January 2016). "@NickN05L31 @MrDankEngine Thanks for that. I've recorded Rheneas for season 20. Happy to be specific now :)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.?s=03
- "Movie Watch". Western Mail. 26 March 2016. ProQuest 1775781750.
- Tracy Ann Oberman (20 August 2016). "@Diesel104472 I am Daisy the Diesel Car. She's v funny" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- Christopher Ragland (27 May 2015). "@Wellsworth96 no, I do the UK and U.S. Trucks...only do Percy U.S." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- John Schwab (17 November 2016). "@ElliotKW Yes, that's me. Thanks for watching" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Harry, Bill (2004). The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia. Virgin Books. p. 314. ISBN 978-0-7535-0843-5.
- Allcroft, Britt (June 26, 2008). "Los Angeles Times – "The George Carlin I knew"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
- Haring, Bruce (31 May 2020). "Michael Angelis Dies: Voice Of 'Thomas The Tank Engine' Was 76". Deadline. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
- Agencies (2013-05-17). "Former Brookside actor to be Thomas the Tank Engine narrator". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-08-31.
External links
Official websites
Other sites
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