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Thomas the Tank Engine show set to have gender imbalance fixed

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Sun, 15 Oct 2017, 1:28PM
Three of the seven engines at Tidmouth Sheds will now be female (Image / Getty Images)
Three of the seven engines at Tidmouth Sheds will now be female (Image / Getty Images)

Thomas the Tank Engine show set to have gender imbalance fixed

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Sun, 15 Oct 2017, 1:28PM

Girls are finally getting a bigger role in Thomas the Tank Engine's boy-dominated world.

Mattel, the toy maker that owns the Thomas brand, will add two female main characters to the Thomas & Friends TV series next year.

Nia and Rebecca will appear in each episode and help fix the gender imbalance at the shed where Thomas and the other main characters live.

Three of the seven engines at Tidmouth Sheds will now be female, up from just one.

The gender shakeup is just one of the many changes coming to the 30-year-old show.

The animation will move at a faster pace, there's a new theme song, the characters will crack more jokes and the narrator will be gone - replaced by the voice of Thomas.

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