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Didi Conn didn’t hold back when revealing what it was like to work with musical legend Ringo Starr on their 1989 series Shining Time Station. Conn, 74, and Starr, 85, got to know each other while working on the show, which was the American spin-off of Britain’s Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and was based on The Railway Series by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry. Shining Time Station, which ran on PBS from 1989 to 1993, combined Thomas the Tank Engine stories with real life actors. “It’s really funny,” Conn told People in an interview published on Tuesday, October 28. After noting her son, Daniel Shire, was born in 1992 and and was “a baby” when she appeared on Shining Time Station, she said he’s all grown up now at 33 years old. “He’s 33 now. So all the time I’ll see a guy who’s that age of my son, and he goes, ‘Were you Stacy?’ she said, referring to her character of station manager Stacy Jones. “And they become this little boy again, and how much they loved Thomas.” The Grease star then joked that she’s “waiting” for one of her grown-up fans to “run a studio” and cast her in a role. While Conn starred as Stacy for all three seasons of the show, Starr only appeared as Mr. Conductor on season one of Shining Time Station. He then left the series to focus on his music career, and George Carlin later took on the role of Mr. Conductor. In light of the casting change, viewers were told the new star was a cousin of Starr’s characters. Parade Daily🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 Despite only appearing in one season of the beloved show, the former Beatles member was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in 1989 for his work on Shining Time Station. While speaking to the outlet, Conn revealed what it was really like to work with Starr. “Ringo was such an old hippie. He wanted us there,” Conn said of their time working together, noting that they often filmed in front of a blue screen. “He’d be hanging out in his trailer with the door open, listening to the oldies station.”
