Female 'Thomas and Friends' characters

An overhaul of Thomas the Tank Engine will see two male engines turfed out to make way for female characters. 

Henry and Edward will be moving out of Tidmouth Sheds to make way for Nia, an orange engine from Africa, and Rebecca, a yellow-coloured engine. 

They will join Emily, the other female engine, as well as the boys Thomas, Percy James and Gordon. 

And the tradition of Liverpudlian narration - which first began with Ringo Starr - will disappear, as well as the theme tune with its roll-call of engine names. 

But the the most dramatic change will be Thomas leaving his home on the Island of Sodar as he embarks on adventures across the globe. 

Mattel, the US toy giant that owns rights to the much-loved show, collaborated with the United Nations to help meet the organisation's Sustainable Development Goals. 

The storylines have been written to meet five of the goals: quality education, gender equality, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, and life on land. 

Mattel said the changes are a 'groundbreaking refresh' and is based on extensive market research with hundreds of parents and their children. 

The show had previously come under fire and was criticised as sexist, classist and anti-enviromentalist. 

But its creators have introduced small changes in recent years, including the addition of Japanese engine, Hiro. 

The overhaul, which begins in 2018, is the most significant transformation since the TV version first broadcast in 1984.

The shows are based on the books of Rev Wilbert Awdry, who made up the stories to entertain his son, Christopher, who was ill with measles. 

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is republished here with permission.