THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The daughter of the clergyman author who created Thomas the Tank Engine has criticised television producers for writing Christmas out of a new series.
Hilary Fortnam said that her father, the Rev W Awdry, would have been distressed after executives decided to omit religious references from one his adventures.
The Rev Awdry was himself the son of a Hampshire vicar and brought his three children up in the traditions of the Church of England.
His relatives have now protested after the television company which is recording new adventures for the little blue engine rebranded Christmas as "the holidays" in its latest storyline, to comply with “politically correct” thinking.
“He would feel very strongly about this politically correct age and that those who now write his stories should not have taken Christ out of Christmas. Political correctness against Christian beliefs offends,” Mrs Fortnam said in a letter to the Daily Telegraph.
She explained that her father, who worked as a vicar for nearly 30 years, “always impressed on reporters and publishers that he ‘was a priest first and a children’s author second.’” » | Duncan Gardham | Monday, October 10, 2011
