Britt Allcroft, a British writer, producer, and director, passed away. She was 81.  She was responsible for bringing , an animated locomotive, to television and starting a popular and successful franchise.  Holly Wright, Allcroft's daughter, informed that her mother passed away in Los Angeles on Christmas Day. The Rev. Wilbert Awdry drew inspiration for from a wooden toy he manufactured for his son and used it in a series of children's books published in the 1940s.  Allcroft's initial adaption, which she funded by taking out a mortgage on her home, was a 26-episode television series that debuted as on ITV in the United Kingdom in 1984. was chosen by Allcroft to play Mr. Conductor, the first narrator of the soothing program. drummer would be followed by George Carlin, Alec Baldwin, and Pierce Brosnan. Allcroft and American producer Rick Siggelkow created the spinoff , which debuted on PBS in the United States in 1989. She also produced Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales, another spinoff, in 1996. Allcroft also created the animated series , which was based on Katharine Tozer's books and included an elephant. Hilary Mary Allcroft was born in West Sussex, England, on December 14, 1943, and at the age of 19, she was hired by the BBC.  After that, she worked for Southern Television before starting her own production firm to start stage and television productions.