9 May 2025, 08:32 | Updated: 9 May 2025, 08:34

By Ian McCue

Today marks a truly special occasion, the 80th anniversary of Thomas & Friends.

To celebrate we will be unveiling for the very first time the original pilot episode of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends from 1983.

This episode, a piece of television history, was originally produced by Britt Allcroft, as a test episode before the first series premiered the following year in 1984. The test footage has never been seen since and was presumed lost. The existence of a pilot has long been rumoured within the fan community who have been theorising and sleuthing about its contents for years. The truth is that tucked away in Mattel's archive were three film cans containing 35mm trims from the pilot episode and today we’re delighted to finally reveal it to the world.

My involvement in the restoration of this pilot has been a wonderful experience, almost like taking a journey back in time. Our team worked with extreme care and diligence to restore the episode, using the original pilot script as a guide, stitching together film trims that are now over........

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