Sir Topham Hatt

Sir Topham Hatt

Background information

**First episode**
"The Trouble With Trucks"

Character information

**Full name**
Sir Bertram Topham Hatt

**Other names**
* The Fat Controller
* The Stout Gentleman (*by Toby*)
* Fat Hatt (*by Diesel 10*)
* Captain (*by Salty*)
* Boss (*by Ferdinand and Kevin*)
* Hattie (*by Junior*)
* Guv (*by Sonny*)
* Guvnor (*by Sonny*)

**Age**
Unknown (*Human*)

**Home**
Island of SodorEngland (*formerly*)

**Quote**
"You are a really useful engine."

**Sir Bertram Topham Hatt**, or simply "**The Fat Controller**" in the UK, is the controller of the North Western Railway and formerly the Skarloey Railway.

Personality
Sir Topham Hatt is strict but funny and fair. He can be strict, but with a good reason and he deeply cares about the engines and also shows a fatherly side to them. He is quite a strong character and will remind the engines that he is in charge if they start to rebel against his authority. He does not stand bullying and even though he is usually serious, he does enjoy a good jolly laugh.
Despite his kindness and fairness, however, there are times where Sir Topham Hatt berates the engines for situations beyond their control, although it is usually because he still feels like their carelessness or ignorance played a hand in it. Like any son, he does hold a slight bit of respect for his mother, Dowager Hatt. But like all parental relationships, there are some things he finds more personal than others.
At times, Sir Topham Hatt can be the comic relief character, having high levels of irony and occasional slapstick. He can also be overhasty and forgetful at times and misplace priorities. He also has a slight sweet tooth, having a particular taste for creme buns, ice cream and milkshakes.
That being said, he also shows a distinctly more fatherly side to his engines. When one of them goes missing, he is staunchly determined to find them, even if it means travelling entire countries to do so. He is also known to be very proud of his signature top hat, and often distresses about it should the hat come to harm. He does care about his engines much more though, as he threw it aside upon finding Thomas on Misty Island.

Attire
Sir Topham Hatt is a short, chubby gentleman. He usually wears morning dress, consisting of grey trousers, a white shirt, a black tie, a cream, yellow, blue, purple or grey waistcoat, a black tailcoat and a black top hat. He is most often depicted as having thinned grey, black or brown hair and brown eyes, while in the television series, he is depicted as completely bald.

Appearances
Television Series* **Season 1** - The Trouble With Trucks, Stepney's Problem (mentioned, cameo), Thumper Saves the Day, A Scottish Tale (mentioned), Toby and the New Engine, The Trouble With Spencer, Duties of The Diesels, Wilbert and Tiger Moth, Frank and the Trucks, Thomas' 4th of July, Gordon Plays a Trick and Murdoch and the Express
* **Season 2** - A Special Visitor, James' Tender Trouble (speaks, not seen), A Flying Surprise, Jealous James (cameo, speaks, not seen), Old Slow Coach, The Flying Scotsman Returns, Save Sir Topham Hatt, Thomas Helps a Friend, Murdoch's New Coach, Disaster on Sodor and The Flying Scotsman Departs
* **Season 3** - Double Trouble, George the Steamroller, New Engine Fever, Mike's Ice Cream Party, Clumsy Culdee, Rickety's Revenge, S.C. Ruffey and the Foolish Freight Cars, Trouble On The Track, Donald Visits the Scrapyard and Frank and Fred the Orange Coal Car
* **Season 4** - All For One and One For James, Sir Handel and the Brakevan, Rosie's Wild Ride and Naughty Engines
* **Season 5** - The Express Turkey, Fergus' Market Day, Duck-Duck-Spooked and Snow Can't Stop Us
* **Season 6** - Rosie Being Lazy, Little Engines, Big Help, Come Along Old Slow Coach, Officer Murdoch, Diesel Knows It All and The Haunted Shed
* **Season 7** - The Final Fate of Spamcan, Molly's Folly and Stanley, Whiff, and The Troublesome Dumptrucks
* **Season 8** - Jack is Back, A Challenge for the Controller, Tricky Trucks, The New Controller, Find That Bike!, The Crash Course and Fire at the Sheds
* **Season 9** - Hankenstein, Help for Bertie, The Kipper Caper, Tender Bender, Harvey's Second Chance, Peter Sam and the Flour, Planes, Cranes, and Games, Mavis and the Sleepy Engines, The Arlesdale Rumor and Railway Stowaway
* **Season 10** - Scruff and S.C. Ruffey, Captain's Crunch, Lorry's New Flatbed (mentioned), Mike Goes on Strike, A Normal Day for Dennis, Edward Breaks Down, Paranoid Paxton and Norman Invasion
* **Season 11** - Stepney and the Bluebell Branchline, Around the Railyard in 64 Seconds (cameo), The Great Western Way, Big City Rumor, Station Situation (mentioned), Just Duck's Luck, Hank and the Hatt St Crossing, Spencer Goes Too Far, Holly Jolly Molly, Trembling Trevor, Old Square Wheels, Wooden Brakes and BoCo and the Cocoa
* **Season 12** - Greetings, Montague!, Stafford's Electric Slide, Scottish Blues, The Importance of Being Billy, Truckus Ruckus, The Mavis Matrix, Gordon's Last Hurrah, Percy Gets a Promotion, Henry's Handcar Havoc (cameo), Rheneas and the Risky Rendezvous, If The Dome Fits, Bulgy Takes the High Road, The Mystery Train, Sidney the Renegade and Vicarstown Takedown
* **Season 13** - Duck and the Quack Attack, The Duke of Hazard and Ivo Hugh's Day at the Zoo
* **Season 14** - Flat Stanley and Hatt Trick
* **Season 15** - Toby's Turntable Fable and For Whom The Belle Tolls
* **Season 16** - Sweet Sixteen, Bulstrode Barges In, Bad News Bear, Bowler Strikes Again, Paxman Pulls Through, Knock it Off, Stanley, Throw Topham from the Train and Finding Lorry
* **Season 17** Unidentified Flying Scotsman, Tender Love and Care, Dustin the Really Useless Engine, Bold Slow Coach, Hard to Handel (mentioned), Sidney Transplant, Wellsworth the Wait, Big Trouble on the Little Western, Oliver Confusion, Diesel Gets the Bronze, James and the Giant Screech, Toby, Or Not Toby, Thomas' Crown Affair, Rocked by a Hurricane and Para-Norman Activity
* **Season 18** - Santa Claws and Steam Team Dream *(fantasy)*

Specials* Claw of the Law
* Oliver's Eleven
* Saving Pirate Ryan

Trivia* Unlike The Railway Series, Sir Topham Hatt is not three controllers but one mono entity of them all.
* Due to different societal norms, the Fat Controller is always referred to by his real name, "Sir Topham Hatt" in the US.
	+ In Thomas and the Magic Railroad, Diesel 10 calls him "Fat Hatt", a combination of his nickname and his surname.
* The Fat Controller's television series model from The Grand Opening appeared in the 2009 "Children in Need" charity single and was animated using stop-motion.
* Throughout the series, it has been shown that he's not a very good driver to both Elizabeth and Winston.
* The Fat Controller's office set was part of an exhibit at the Hangaram Art Museum in South Korea in 2010.
* Large scale and miniature models of Sir Topham Hatt are currently in the safe hands of the Top Props preservation group, after they were sold by The Prop Gallery. A large scale walking model of Sir Topham Hatt was also sold by The Prop Gallery and is now owned by Twitter user ThomasTankMerch.
* Sir Topham Hatt is often accompanied by two men in standard blue railway uniforms. They are presumed to be his assistants. In the sixteenth series episode, Percy and the Calliope, the narrator refers to them as "helpers".
* In the book, Thomas-saurus Rex, it states that Sir Topham Hatt used to be called "Little Topham Hatt" in his youth. His grandfather also appears in the book.
* Sir Topham Hatt's *Thomas & Friends* model had eyebrows inconsistently. Between the sixth and eleventh series, the model mainly did not have them at all, excluding the seventh series episode, The Grand Opening. It would not be until the CGI series that he would permanently have eyebrows.
* The alternative rock band Catherine Wheel released a song named after the Fat Controller called "*Here Comes The Fat Controller*" on their 1997 album, *Adam and Eve*.
* From the thirteenth to fifteenth series, Sir Topham Hatt was referred to as "**Bertram**" by Dowager Hatt. Thus, his first name is not revealed until 25 years after the show began.
* In most episodes and specials, Sir Topham Hatt is seen writing with his right hand. But in the nineteenth series episode, No Help At All, he is seen writing left-handed. This could likely be a mistake, but may also mean he is ambidextrous.
* A photo of the Fat Controller from the first series episode, Trouble in the Shed was shown on a web-exclusive video of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
* Sir Topham Hatt is the only named human character to appear and speak in every series of the television series.
* Between the thirteenth and fifteenth series, Hero of the Rails to Tale of the Brave, Sir Topham Hatt was the only character from the model series to still be voiced by the narrator in the CGI Series in the Finnish dub.
* The Marvel Comics incarnation of Sir Topham Hatt, has a sister living in the town of Weymouth, Dorset, England. He sometimes visits her whilst on holiday.