Adam Thomas has shared a heartfelt tribute to his real-life niece after the pair stole the show in emotional scenes on Waterloo Road. The actor reprised his role as Donte Charles in the BBC one drama earlier this month and has been joined by someone he knows very well.
Fans were delighted in 2021 when the BBC announced it would be reviving the show and just days into the new year, Waterloo Road returned to screens for the first time in almost eight years after it was axed. The show, which ran from 2006 to 2015, was first filmed at Hill Top Primary School in Rochdale before relocating to Scotland. And the reboot has seen the team return to Greater Manchester.
The return of the much-loved show saw viewers get to catch up with Donte, played by former Emmerdale star Adam, and Chlo Charles, played by Kaie Griffiths, following their teenage love story at Waterloo Road in 2009. Viewers saw that the married couple now had two children of their own - Izzy and Tommy.
Taking on the role of Tommy is Adam's real-life son, Teddy Thomas, while Izzy is played by the Manchester star's niece, Scarlett Thomas. And it's no surprise that Scarlett has been winning praise for her portrayal of the bereaved school girl, following Chlo's shock death in episode one of the new series, due to not only her uncle being in the business but her mum and dad.
Scarlett is the teenage daughter of former Corrie couple Tina O'Brien and Ryan Thomas. While Tina still appears in the ITV soap as Sarah Barlow, Ryan left as Jason Grimshaw back in 2016. Ryan and Tina split in 2009.
During Tuesday night's edition of Waterloo Road, which is also available to bing on BBC iPlayer, viewers saw teacher Coral Walker break down as she struggled to cope with the feeling that she was responsible for Chlo's death. Her meltdown at the school came after she attended Chlo's inquest with the coroner delivering an open verdict.
As she broke down to headteacher Kim Campbell, Coral said to Kim: "You don't know me, I have killed someone. I lied, I lied to everyone, to the police, to Donte." However, she was unaware that Izzy was listening from behind the door. The distraught schoolgirl phoned her dad to pick her up.
When he arrived at the school, Donte lost his cool and confronted Coral. As he headed back to his car with Izzy, the dad-of-two saw red, picking up a hammer from his truck before smasing the windows and body of Coral's car. After his daughter's desperate plea for him to stop, the pair headed home.
And in a heartbreaking scene, Donte apologised to his daughter as he slipped to the floor. But she was quick to reassure her dad that he had nothing to be sorry for as nobody understood what they were going through. Donte then vowed that he wasn't going to let it go and would find justice for his wife's death.
Following the emotional scenes, Adam shared a image of the scene in question and dedicated the post to Scarlett. He penned: "Just want to say I love you…I love working with you…and am proud to call you my niece. You're a lil superstar @scarlettjthomas26." And fans wasted not time in agreeing with him.
@keleye76 said: "Love this relationship, what a talented family. Thank you for bringing such wonder to our screens." @nimmiemerson replied: "She is a superstar, what a great little actress." @adamthomaasfan commented: "This is beautiful. I absolutely adore seeing you working with your niece and son >> it’s incredible."
@ajfrank12 posted: "No because I actually forgot she's Ryan's daughter and not yours. Great episode." @adamthomas_fann shared: "Love the onscreen chemistry between you and Scarlett, You both are incredibly talented." @alishameehan22 added: "@scarlettjthomas26 is an amazing young actress she's gonna go far!!! Love watching you both and little Teddy, well done to you all."
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