Carly (T&F)/Behind the Scenes

Background Information
Carly is a fictional crane created by Lee Pressman and Ian McCue.

Carly first appeared in the twenty-first series episode Cranky at the End of the Line, which first aired in 2017. Her last appearance was in the twenty-fourth series episode Thomas' Animal Friends, which was released in 2021.

Carly is based on a Chinese portal crane built by Xinxiang Kehao Machinery Equipment Co., Ltd.

Voice
Carly is voiced by Lucy Montgomery (UK/US) in the CGI version of the series on both sides of the Atlantic, respectively. Much like a large number of characters in the CGI series, Carly speaks with an accent contrasting the country of origin of her basis; Montgomery voices Carly with a Liverpool accent, whereas her basis comes from China.

CGI Model
In 2009, the series introduced Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Carly was created from scratch in CGI by Jam Filled Toronto for the twenty-first series. The model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software.

According to Lee Pressman, Carly was originally meant to be called Mildred. However, the name was changed as the producers felt it sounded too old. Salty called the Sea Serpents Mildred in his story as a reference to Carly's original name. This can also be seen in some of her concept art.

Carly's face is based on the face of English actress Jennifer Saunders. Prototype faces were based upon actresses Helen George and Suranne Jones.

Voice Actors

 * Lucy Montgomery
 * Rachael Miller
 * Misa Ishii
 * Dolores Mondragón
 * Birgit von Rönn
 * Ines Nierstenhöfer
 * Susa Saukko
 * Lauren Savir
 * Camila Castellani
 * Olga Kuznetsova
 * Lee Je-in
 * Ana de Castro