For years, Brocomotives have thought that the lone Express Coach seen in a shot from Thomas Comes to Breakfast was supposed to be the titular character from a canceled episode called, The Missing Coach. However, recent leaks revealed that the actual missing Coach was a simple orange branchline coach like Annie and Clarabel.
We emailed the original Red Express Coach Prop to ask her for her story.
“When people first found out about the cancelled adaptation of The Missing Coach, I started getting tons of emails asking if it was me.” Muriel explained. “They all assumed the background coach I played in Thomas Comes to Breakfast was reused footage from the lost episode.”
Muriel the Express Coach had never had so much attention directed towards her. She began to play along.
“Rachel, the actual Missing Coach, was arrested years ago for drug abuse.” Muriel explained. “I was worried people would catch on at first; after all, Thomas ran right past me in that shot so how could I have been missing?”
Muriel continued to tell us all about how she had kept this up for all these years, and about why she did so.
“I was always just set decoration or being pulled around by an engine. Nobody cared about us Express Coaches.” She said, beginning to sob. “For once in my life, I felt like people truly cared about what I had to say. Please don’t be angry at me for lying this whole time.”
Muriel did face backlash for not telling the truth for all these years, but many fans were willing to forgive her when they saw how sorry she was. She also revealed that her life as a Star wasn’t completely fun and games.
“I was responding to fan emails one day, when I got a message from a group of people who said they were moderators of Footplate Forums and that they knew my secret.” Muriel recalled. “They had pictures of the actual missing coach, and said they would dox me unless I gave them David Mittons’ Family’s contact information and behind-the-scenes images nobody had seen before.”
Thomas News Network 