Lucky then that this was spotted by Shauna Wilton, a professor of political sciences at the University of Alberta, Canada before it could inflict damage on further generations of children.

Telegraph : “It also represents a conservative political ideology that punishes individual initiative, opposes critique and change, and relegates females to supportive roles,” she said.

She concluded that her study showed programmes for children are not as harmless as many parents think if they look more closely and she called for tighter controls of what is broadcast to them.

“We tend to think of children’s TV shows as neutral and safe, but they still carry messages,” she said.

“Eventually these children will attain full political citizenship, and the opinions and world outlook they develop now, partially influenced by shows like Thomas, are part of that process.”

And they could even go on to become lawyers. So if most of your firm’s partners are male, conservative and a little condescending to female employees, now you know; they are probably a bunch of Tankers.

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