Mrs. C. Ella

Mrs. C. Ella, nicknamed "The Girl Controller" (previously known as "The Girl Director"), is the manager of the North Western Railway and is a sister figure to her characters.

## Personality

Mrs. Ella is a widely respected figure, acting as a motherly figure to the characters of the line. She will give out her sympathy to her characters in need, but will always be stern with troublemakers on the line. She's well known for her skill in figuring out tough problems along the railway. You could have a traffic jam at the Freight Yard and she'd be able to get it cleared in a jiff! Though she does tend to get a little caught up in the workload every now and then, and she does have to balance rail-work and other duties in Crotoonia, Mrs. Ella is always ready and prepared!

## Background

An experienced woman of the rails, Carina Ella began her life on the railway as a cleaner stationed at the now-defunct Gridinia Slate Company Sheds. Her main job was to clean out the stacks and fireboxes of the characters that worked the original Kahlville and Gridinia Railway, resulting in her nickname among fellow engineers "Cinderella". She soon grew fascinated with railway management, especially after being given the chance of driving one of the oldest characters on the line, and soon rised from stationmaster at Celgreb Central to being placed in charge of the "North Western Railway" lines in May 2005; a remarkable feat for a young woman working on the railway!

## Appearances

### Clash of the Couples

* **Series 1** - The Crotoonia Games, Coast Guard Teslo (fantasy), Volectro's Space Train, Scrap Iron, Jessicake's Mixel Driving School, Big Bad Yolanda, The Couple Team and Krader Steals the Spotlight

## Voice Actors

* Tara Strong (UK/US)
* Alina Galindo (Latin America)
* Keiko Nemoto (Japan)
* Jorunn Torsheim (Norway)
* Blanche Ravalec (France and French Speaking Canada)
* Monica Volpe (Italy)
* Franciska Friede (Germany)
* Hanna Mönkäre (Finland)
* Magda Kusa (Poland)
* Orly Tagar (Israel)
* Marlies Somers (The Netherlands)
* Marie Dalsgaard (Denmark)
* Kate Kelly (Brazil)
* Elena Barra (Spain)
* Carina Chereji (Romania)
* Olga Kuznetsova (Russia)
* Lee Jae-hyun (South Korea)
* Vina Papadopoulou﻿ (Greece)

## Trivia

* According to Crotoonia: Reading Between the Lines, the Girl Controller is based on no one in particular, though Christopher Awdry suggests his doctor at the time the character was created may have been an "unconscious contribution".
* Due to different societal norms, the Girl Controller is always referred to by her real name, "Mrs. C. Ella" in the US.
	+ Even so, in certain US episodes following the CGI series, the characters' mouths are not reanimated properly, as their mouths say "The Girl Controller" when they verbally say "Mrs. C. Ella".
	+ Also, several times in the UK script, Mrs. C. Ella is addressed by her nickname in public, when it would be inappropriate. This was fixed in Blue Mountain Mystery, when Tocky Cuckoo Clock called the Girl Controller by his real name "Mrs. C. Ella". In The Great Race, Krader said "Mrs. C. Ella.
* The Girl Controller's television series model from Whitney Whisk's Birthday Party appeared in the 2009 "Children in Need" charity single and was animated using stop-motion.
* In Clash of the Couples: The Movie, Fortune Stella calls her "Girl Ella", a combination of her nickname and her real name.
* According to Stella Selfie, Mrs. C. Ella was a bad driver in her younger days. When she is seen driving Flain, it seems her skills have not improved.
* Mrs. C. Ella's office set was part of an exhibit at the Hangaram Art Museum in Korea in 2010.
* Large scale and miniature models of Mrs. C. Ella 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 Mrs. C. Ella was also sold by The Prop Gallery.
* Throughout the television series, Mrs. C. Ella is accompanied by two men in standard blue railway uniforms. They are presumed to be her assistants. In the sixteenth series episode, Apple Blossom and the Calliope, the narrator refers to them as "helpers".
* In the book, Cheeky-saurus Rex, it states that Mrs. C. Ella used to be called "Little C. Ella" in her youth. Her grandfather also appears in the book.
* Mrs. C. Ella's television series 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 she would permanently have eyebrows.
* The alternative rock band Catherine Wheel released a song named after the Girl Controller called "Here Comes The Girl Controller" on their 1997 album, Adam and Eve.
* From the thirteenth series to the fifteenth series, Mrs. C. Ella was referred to as "Bertram" (not to be confused with the character).
* From Hero of the Rails to the eighteenth series, Mrs. C. Ella had an American accent in the US dub.
* In most episodes and specials, Mrs. C. Ella is seen writing with her right hand. But in the nineteenth series episode, No Help At All, she is seen writing left-handed. This could likely be a mistake, but may also mean he is ambidextrous (being able to write with both hands).
* A photo of the Girl Controller from the first series episode, Trouble in the Shed was shown on a web-exclusive video of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
* Mrs. C. Ella 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, Mrs. C. Ella was the only character from the model series to still be voiced by the narrator in the CGI Series in the Finnish dub.
* Her name is a pun on top hat, the constant loss of which is a running gag throughout the series.
* Although unconfirmed, her sweet tooth might be the showrunners poking fun at her weight.