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Boy, 13, is new voice of Thomas the Tank Engine

Read the original at BBC News ↗
Cite

Fullbrook, D. (2026, September 17). Boy, 13, is new voice of Thomas the Tank Engine. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c65y5xv3j90vo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

BBC News · collected 2026-09-17 · by Danny Fullbrook

Quick Summary

A 13-year-old boy named Harry Sparkes from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, has become the new voice actor for Thomas the Tank Engine in an upcoming animated series. For nine months, he kept his role secret by telling classmates he was attending physiotherapy sessions. The series features Henry Golding as narrator and will be available on YouTube starting September 17, with a full Netflix release on September 30, followed by a complete series debut early in 2027.
Written by AI on 2026-09-17, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Harry Sparkes, a 13-year-old boy from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, has secretly been recording as the new voice of Thomas the Tank Engine for nine months. He kept his involvement a secret by telling classmates he was attending physiotherapy for an injured foot. The new animated series, titled "Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories," will launch on the official YouTube channel today and stream on Netflix later this month. Alongside Sparkes, Henry Golding, star of *Crazy Rich Asians*, narrates the series in a role previously held by Sir Ringo Starr. The reboot aims to bring a modern twist while maintaining the essence of the beloved character created by Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son Christopher in 1945.

Written for “New Voice Of Thomas The Tank Engine” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 New Voice Of Thomas The Tank Engine
Entertainment · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Chuffed, boy of 13 is on track to be TV's newest Thomas the Tank Engine Same event
Daily Mail
Hedges 0 of 6 claims Outlet record 68/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
12
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 12 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
BBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-17 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

BBC News · 4818 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Danny Fullbrook
2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 RAIB said it would continue to investigate why Burton's train had passed the red signal, as well as the signal's positioning, visibility and status.
2026-10-01 · assertive framing · Train sped up past red signal before fatal crash
🔮 Sparkes added that he thought his friends would be shocked to find out he was voicing the character.
2026-09-17 · assertive framing · Boy, 13, is new voice of Thomas the Tank Engine
Also by Danny Fullbrook
Train sped up past red signal before fatal crash
2026-10-01 · BBC News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Harpenden Hertfordshire Mattel Sodor Thomas

Subjects

Thomas PERSON · 3× Golding PERSON · 2× Sparkes PERSON · 2× Harpenden GPE · 1× Harry Sparkes PERSON · 1× Henry Golding PERSON · 1× Hertfordshire GPE · 1× Mattel ORG · 1× Ringo Starr PERSON · 1× Thomas the Tank Engine PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Golding added: "I think we bring a new spin and a new sort of excitement to Thomas, and we're kind of bringing it back up to date, which is the exciting part." The new series launches on the Thomas & Friends YouTube channel on 17 September, before streaming on Netflix from 30 September and a full series will debut in early 2027.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-17
🔮 Sparkes added that he thought his friends would be shocked to find out he was voicing the character.
2026-09-17 · BBC News
Boy, 13, is new voice of Thomas the Tank Engine · assertive framing

Claims (12 extracted, 0 hedged)

- Published A 13-year-old schoolboy has made his voice-acting debut as Thomas the Tank Engine in a new animated series. asserted
schoolboy → publish → series
Harry Sparkes, from Harpenden, Hertfordshire, stars in Thomas & Friends: Railway Stories alongside Crazy Rich Asians actor Henry Golding, who narrates the series in a role made famous by Sir Ringo Starr. asserted
who → star → Starr
For nine months, Sparkes kept his weekly recording sessions secret from his classmates by telling them he was attending physiotherapy for a foot injury. asserted
he → keep → injury
"It feels amazing, because I played and watched Thomas as a kid, and now I get to be Thomas. asserted
I → feel → kid
It just feels insane," he said. asserted
he → feel → ?
Sparkes added that he thought his friends would be shocked to find out he was voicing the character. asserted
he → add → character
He said he was excited he got "to be part of something which kids from the next generation will get to grow up to watch". asserted
kids → say → generation
Franchise owners Mattel teased the new series will "introduce fans to a refreshed world of Sodor, while still celebrating the iconic railway action we have all known and loved since its debut as a classic book in 1945". asserted
we → tease → 1945
The character first appeared in The Railway Series, by children's author Reverend Wilbert Awdry. asserted
character → appear → Awdry
Golding said he was in the "shadow of giants" following in the footsteps of Sir Ringo and Pierce Brosnan, who narrated a 2008 movie special called Thomas & Friends: The Great Discovery. asserted
who → say → special
Golding added: "I think we bring a new spin and a new sort of excitement to Thomas, and we're kind of bringing it back up to date, which is the exciting part." The new series launches on the Thomas & Friends YouTube channel on 17 September, before streaming on Netflix from 30 September and a full series will debut in early 2027. asserted
series → add → 2027
Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? asserted
you → have → Beds
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