The original test episode, titled Down The Mine, will appear online on Friday 9 May to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the famous talking tank engine franchise. The popular character began his adventures in a book published in 1945 which was later adapted into a TV show, which ran from 1984 until 2021. The 40-year-old plus recording of the original pilot - shot on 35mm film - has been dug up and updated digitally, and will be made available to view on YouTube at 18:00 BST. Beatles drummer Sir Ringo can be heard narrating in the new footage alongside a slightly different bespoke musical arrangement of the theme tune by longtime series composer Mike O' Donnell.

Ian McCue, the series producer on the show from 2010 to 2020, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday the team had "stumbled across" the old film cans which had been put in storage and "had to piece it together with great love and care." "I think that you can see that there's teething problems that they would have had had they not done that [the pilot]," he explained. "It was a very smart move to do that and to make sure everything was good for when they started season one.

"So obviously smoke coming from behind Thomas's face plate, and I know that, having talked to some of the crew that worked on it, they had problems with the radio control devices not getting through the actual engine builds." He added: "But I think there's a sort of a lovely charm and innocence about it, and I think even as a pilot, as a test piece, it still has that lovely, classic, timeless story to it, and the voices, everything is just so delightful." Thomas first appeared on ITV before moving to Cartoon Network, Nick Jr, Channel 5 and can now be found on Netflix. McCue attributes the show's enduring popularity to its evolution over time while maintaining themes of friendship and teamwork, aligned with its trustworthiness for parents. (BBC/ Getty Images)