Adam Thomas has been in the public eye for over two decades as he’s best known for his roles in Waterloo Road and Emmerdale.
Although he made his acting debut in 2002, having a small role in BBC’s Doctors, Adam Thomas is best known for his role as Donte Charles in Waterloo Road and Adam Barton in Emmerdale.
The 36-year-old was a fan-favourite in the ITV soap, where he stayed for almost a decade before leaving in 2018. Since then, he’s appeared in various reality shows such as I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! and Strictly Come Dancing.
However, Adam isn’t the only person in the spotlight in his family; his niece acts alongside him in Waterloo Road, his future sister-in-law is a well-known reality star and his two brothers are also in the public eye.
We’ve taken a look into the actor’s life off-screen when the cameras stop rolling.
Family Tragedy
Adam’s dad Dougie James sadly died in November 2020 at the age of 72. The 70s music legend was found by the Emmerdale star, who was alerted something wasn’t right by his brother’s cleaner.
Recalling the harrowing moment on his Mancs On The Mic podcast with his brothers Scott and Ryan, Adam details how he tried to save his life.
He shared: “I just thought, ‘I’ve got to try and help him’. So, I’m taking him off the couch and I’m trying to resuscitate him, I don’t know whether I’m doing it right or whether I’m doing it wrong.
“I remember just thinking, ‘Wow, this is just not how I expected it to go’. I’m crying my eyes out going, ‘Come on, dad’. I’m jumping up and down on my dad, trying to save him…”
ITV viewers got to see a glimpse at Adam’s relationship with his dad back in 2019 in the documentary Mancs In Mumbai, where Adam and his family explored their heritage.
When Adam reprised his role as Donte when Waterloo Road returned, he revealed the storyline he was involved in helped deal with grieving his dad.
‘Challenging’ Health Condition
The actor was initially told he had rheumatoid arthritis back in 2023. However, his diagnosis has since changed to psoriatic arthritis.
The condition is an autoimmune disease which causes swelling, joint pain, and stiffness. Adam has openly spoken about suffering with the lifelong condition and has often shared updates on social media.
Last year, he pleaded with fans for their advise after detailing his struggles with the medication he was taking. Although he confessed it was working, he noted his side effects of feeling drowsy, throwing up and constant fatigue.
Adam’s initial health diagnosis occurred shortly before appearing on Strictly Come Dancing. Although he was suffering from symptoms at the time, including joint pain and swelling, he continued to take part in the competition.
Detailing how his condition impacted his performance, Adam explained on This Morning: “I got the diagnosis literally just before I did Strictly. I signed up to do Strictly way before any of this. So, I just thought the pain would go away and it didn’t. Doing Strictly, it was very challenging.
“You look back at some of the dances and I don’t do any lifts or any swirls or anything like that. I couldn’t lift her up.”
During his appearance on the ITV show, viewers learnt there were some days his wife had to help him get changed due to the severe pain he was in. Recently, Adam revealed he has stopped taking his medication and has adopted a carnivore diet, which has brought him some relief.
Famous twin
Many often mistake Adam and his older brother Ryan, known for playing Jason Grimshaw in Coronation Street, as twins. However, his twin is Love Island’s Scott Thomas.
Scott, although not an actor, has been in the public eye since 2016, when he appeared on the popular ITV dating show. He’s currently taking part in the 2025 All Stars series alongside other islanders who have appeared on the show throughout the years.
Speaking about his brother on the show, Adam confessed that the family had gotten together to watch the first episode. He added: “When he was going in there, he didn’t want to tell anyone because he was scared that people were going to talk him out of it, because he is 36-years-old going into Love Island, but he is just doing what he wants to do and I can’t wait to see him fall in love, if he does.”
Although he shares a twin bond with Scott, the three brothers seem just as close. They had a podcast together where they spoke about their lives growing up and often share hilarious videos on their joint TikTok account.
Speaking about his acting career, Adam confessed Ryan was the one who inspired him. In an episode of their podcast, he said: “Ryan has always been the entertainer of the family, from as far back as I can remember, even being kids. For me when you got the role in Coronation Street, it just opened my eyes.”