Adam Gordon Thomas (born 11 August 1988) is an English actor, known for his roles as

Donte Charles This article lists the characters and the actors who portray them from the BBC television series '' Waterloo Road''. The series utilises an ensemble cast, led by the staff members of the eponymous school. It also has a high turnover rate of char ...

in the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' (2006–2009, 2023–present) and Adam Barton in the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Emmerdale ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British television soap opera that is broadcast on ITV (TV network), ITV. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a List of fictional towns and villages, fict ...

'' (2009–2018). He has also appeared as a contestant on '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' (2016) and ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' (2023).

Early life

Adam Gordon Thomas was born on 11 August 1988 in

Salford, Greater Manchester Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, England.
He is the twin brother of Scott Thomas (TV personality), Scott Thomas, who appeared in ''

Love Island Love Island may refer to: Film * ''Love Island'' (1952 film), an American film directed by Adam Lloyd starring Todd Wathen and Eva Gabor * ''Love Island'' (2014 film), directed by Jasmila Žbanić Music * ''Love Island'' (album), a 1978 album ...

'' in 2016 and the younger brother of ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' actor

Ryan Thomas Ryan James Thomas (born 10 June 1984) is a British former actor. He is known for playing the role of Jason Grimshaw on ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2000 until 2016. In 2018, he played Rafael Humphreys in Australian soap opera ''N ...

. He is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

and

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

heritage. His paternal grandfather is from

Mumbai, India Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

, and emigrated to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, England, in 1947. His paternal great-grandmother was a

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...

who had

ancestry.

Career

Thomas began his television career in 2002 with a guest appearance on the BBC daytime soap opera ''

Doctors Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to: Titles and occupations * Physician, a medical practitioner * Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree ** Doctorate ** List of doctoral degrees awarded b ...

''. It was another four years before Thomas launched to fame in his breakthrough role as Donte Charles in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' of which he was an original cast member upon its inception in 2006 until 2009. The role of Donte led Thomas to enjoy guest appearances in popular hospital drama ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' in 2008 in which he played a boxer, as well as a second appearance in ''

'' in 2007. He also appeared as himself on ITV gameshow ''

All Star Family Fortunes ''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 6 December 2002. A celebrity version, '' All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to ...

'' alongside his older brother and fellow actor Ryan, who played

Jason Grimshaw Jason Grimshaw is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Ryan Thomas, the character first appeared on screen on 25 December 2000. It was announced in October 2015 that Thomas had quit the role ...

in the soap opera, ''

''. Following his departure from ''Waterloo Road'' in 2009, Thomas signed on for his third appearance on daytime soap ''Doctors'', this time playing a character called Ben Hamilton. The episode aired on 26 May 2009. It was announced on 21 May 2009 that Thomas had landed the role of Adam Barton in the long-running

, ''

'', and would appear on screens from July 2009. Thomas left ''Emmerdale'' in early 2018. In November and December 2016, Thomas was a contestant on the sixteenth series of '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' and finished in third place. He became a property executive for the Kamani Property Group in 2018 alongside former ''Emmerdale'' co-star

Marc Silcock Marco "Marc" Silcock (born 4 November 1988) is an English former actor, best known for his portrayal of Jackson Walsh in the British soap opera ''Emmerdale''. Career Silcock studied acting at City College Manchester and has a Diploma in Perfo ...

. Adam also made his stage debut in 2018 when he appeared as The Hollywood Producer from 31 October to 4 November when

Nativity! The Musical ''Nativity! The Musical'' is a stage musical written and directed by Debbie Isitt (co-composed by Nicky Ager), based on Isitt's 2009 film of the same name (part of the ''Nativity'' film series). The musical follows a Coventry based primary sch ...

toured to Liverpool. In February 2019, he portrayed the role of Rob in an episode of the BBC drama '' Moving On''. On 19 October 2019, it was announced that Thomas would be co-hosting '' I'm a Celebrity: Extra Camp''. In September 2019, Thomas opened a bar/restaurant with his school friend, Scott Graham. The restaurant, named The Spinn, was situated in

Gatley Gatley is a suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England, 3 miles north-east of Manchester Airport. History Toponymy Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county of Cheshire, in 12 ...

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, but it later closed. Thomas's historic and publicly documented

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

led to him resigning as director of the limited company as early as mid-2022. In late 2021, it was confirmed Thomas was returning to the role of Donte Charles in recommissioned return of '' Waterloo Road''. In August 2023, Thomas was announced as one of the contestants on the twenty-first series of ''

''. He exited the competition in week 7, (4 November) with his professional dance partner,

Luba Mushtuk Luba Mushtuk (; born 14 November 1989) is a Russian-British dancer and choreographer. Early life Mushtuk was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. When she was twelve she moved to Italy to dance. She announced on Instagram on November 20, 2023 that ...

. This followed their dance off against

Angela Rippon Angela May Rippon (born 12 October 1944) is an English broadcaster, former newsreader, writer and journalist. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's ''BBC Nine O'Clock News, Nine ...

and her professional dance partner

Kai Widdrington Kai Widdrington (born 23 August 1995) is an English dancer and choreographer. In 2010, he was the Junior World Latin American champion. In 2012, he reached the final of the sixth series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. Between 2017 and 2020, he was ...

. In 2025, he and his older brother Ryan hosted

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the ITV (TV network), Channel 3 ...

game show 99 to Beat.

Personal life

In September 2014, Thomas and his long-term girlfriend, Caroline Daly, welcomed their first child, a son named Teddy. The couple have been together since 2008. On 27 August 2017, Adam and Caroline married in Delamere Manor, Cheshire. In May 2018, the pair welcomed a second child, daughter Elsie-Rose. The couple took part in ''

All Star Mr & Mrs ''All Star Mr & Mrs'' is a British television show which first began airing on 12 April 2008 on ITV. It is a celebrity revival of the original '' Mr and Mrs'' that aired on ITV from 1968 to 1988 with two separate revivals in 1995–1996 and 1 ...

'' in August 2016. In August 2020, Thomas admitted that he and his twin have a drinking problem; he vowed to get sober like his brother who celebrated six months of sobriety at the time.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Adam 1988 births Living people Male actors from Salford English male soap opera actors 21st-century English male actors English people of Indian descent English people of Barbadian descent