With two famous soap actors as parents, it was somewhat inevitable that Scarlett Thomas would venture into acting.
This week it was announced that the 13-year-old has joined the cast of the Waterloo Road reboot, which has now become a family affair as her uncle Adam Thomas is playing her dad.
No one was prouder than her parents, Ryan Thomas and Tina O'Brien, who started a relationship after working on Coronation Street together.
Tina, who is still on the ITV soap as Sarah Platt, had been seeing Todd Grimshaw actor Bruno Langley, but after they split she started a relationship with Ryan, who played Bruno's on-screen brother Jason Grimshaw.
In a strange twist of fate, Tina actually first fell for Ryan when she was a 13-year-old at a Saturday drama club in Manchester but there was no instant attraction when they were thrown together again on the set of Corrie in 2003.
"We didn't start going out with each other because we didn't want to become a couple and lose our friendship," said Tina at the time.
"It was very, very hard because I liked him. We both tried to fight it. We must have really liked each other because we did it anyway, it was quite natural."
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The romance soon turned serious and they became an official couple - and they stayed together when Tina left Corrie in 2007.
In October 2008, Tina gave birth to their daughter, Scarlett Jacqueline Thomas, but their relationship came to a devastating end just months before her first birthday.
"He said he didn't love me any more," Tina told new! magazine, admitting they had struggled with the new dynamic of parenthood.
"He said I didn't do it for him any more. Those were his words. I was absolutely devastated. He said he didn't want the responsibility of a relationship with me."
Tina admitted she begged Ryan to change his mind, but said he refused to 'fix' their six-year romance.
"Ryan can be a very loving and nice guy, but he can also be laddy. He was keen to go out a lot," she added.
Tina would rejoin Corrie Corrie in 2015, a year before Ryan decided to leave and headed to Australia to star in Neighbours.
Despite their bitter split, they managed to build bridges and Tina even invited Ryan to her wedding in 2018 to new man Adam Crofts, who she had son Beau with in 2014.
It seems Ryan has a strong relationship with the pair and he has said that Scarlett is a big fan of Adam.
"Adam is cool, he's just a lovely guy," he said. "As a stepfather in Scarlett's life, I've hit the jackpot. She adores him."
While Tina praised her ex and husband for making things work for the sake of Scarlett, with the two families even spending a Christmas together.
"It’s taken a lot of years and a lot of biting my tongue. Seriously, though, it’s mainly down to Adam and Ryan," said Tina.
"It helps that everyone has moved on and is in a happy place. Ryan is really happy and we are happy, so there aren’t any issues.
"For the sake of Scarlett, it has been well worth preserving [our relationship] and choosing our battles."
Meanwhile, Ryan is engaged to former TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh, who he met on Bear Gryll's Celebrity Island in 2017.
Their son, Roman Ravello Thomas, was born in March 2020 and the couple are currently expecting their second child together, a baby girl in late spring.
This means Scarlett is a big sister to younger siblings on both sides of her family - and is frequently seen spending time with them in snaps shared by her parents on social media.
But Tina and Ryan did appear to have a row in 2019 when he shared a picture of Scarlett at a salon having nail varnish removed from her fingernails.
"So mummy puts nail varnish on, daddy takes it off," he wrote in the caption along with an angry emoji.
However, Ryan's partner Lucy actually hit back at him and got an offer from Tina to go out with Scarlett together.
Lucy quickly replied: "So mean!!!!!!", while Tina then responded saying: "@lucymeck1 Don’t worry the three of us can go next time and get matching nails and tattoos."
Tina and Ryan will definitely both be watching the first episode of Waterloo Road when it airs later this year.
Ryan's brother Adam is reprising his role as Donte Charles, who now has a teenage daughter with on-screen wife Chlo Charles (Katie Griffiths), who will be played by his niece.
Speaking on BBC's Morning Live this week, Adam said: "I can't believe I'm actually saying this, I feel like I'm working for Marvel, but what I can tell you is that my little niece Scarlett Thomas is going to be joining the cast of Waterloo Road.
"She's playing my daughter on it. If you're a fan of the show, Donte and Chlo had a kid and she's now grown up. My brother's daughter gets to play my on-screen daughter."
However, Adam has insisted his niece doesn't need any acting advice from him as she is a "force to be reckoned with".
"She doesn't need my advice. I saw her self-tape for the audition and I was blown away, she is a force to be reckoned with," he added.
“She's a triple threat, she can sing, she can dance, she's absolutely amazing and beautiful.
"And it's her first time filming today, so good luck Scarlett!"
Mum Tina O'Brien also shared a sweet post in tribute to her daughter.
"Very excited to finally be able to announce that my gorgeous, lovely, talented Scarlett Thomas will be in the new series of @waterlooroad @bbciplayer #proudmum," she penned alongside a photo of the young cast.
Dad Ryan also shared a sweet message for his daughter after the news was announced.
He wrote: "The secret is finally out!!! As a Father & big brother it doesn’t get much better in life to find out that my brother is going back to " Waterloo Road " where it all started for him in his career to then find out
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