How the Thomas Brothers are the most ambitious showbiz dads in Britain: Stars champion their nepo-babies' careers...with Ryan allowing daughter Scarlett to skip her GCSEs for stardom!

How the Thomas Brothers are the most ambitious showbiz dads in Britain: Stars champion their nepo-babies' careers...with Ryan allowing daughter Scarlett to skip her GCSEs for stardom!
By: dailymail Posted On: August 26, 2025 View: 142

The Thomas family have become something of a showbiz dynasty. 

Ryan and twins Adam and Scott, whose father is soul legend Dougie James, have all become household names thanks to roles in soap operas, reality TV shows and their ever-growing TikTok showcasing their family life. 

The group, aged 41 and 37 respectively, have made it clear they now aim to also make stars of the next generation of Thomases, with Ryan and Adam's kids now thrust into the spotlight, thanks to the hard work of their ambitious dads and uncle. 

At the forefront is 16-year-old Scarlett, daughter of Ryan and his ex-partner Tina O'Brien, who left jaws dropping over the weekend when she revealed she had shunned her GCSEs - seemingly in favour of a showbiz career, which started on Waterloo Road in 2023. 

She is joined on the show by her younger cousin, I'm A Celeb star Adam's son Teddy, 10. They play Adam's on-screen children, Izzy and Tommy.

With Scarlett's earnings projected to be up to £2million before her 18th birthday, it seems her academic prospects are low-priority, while her cousins and siblings are on the same path with the help of their famous family.

Adam Thomas with his son Teddy and Ryan Thomas with his daughter Scarlett. Both youngsters star in Waterloo Road together
Ryan Thomas (centre) with his brothers Scott (left) and Adam (right), quizzing his teenage daughter Scarlett on how many boys she's kissed for a social media clip
Scarlett scooped a role in Waterloo Road in 2023, starring as Izzy, her uncle Adam's on-screen daughter

PR experts have noted that Ryan, Adam and Scott, are 'strategically leveraging each other's personalities and showcasing their talents to millions daily' to fulfil the family's ambitions - with Teddy and Scarlett set to follow in the family footsteps.  

Insider Lynn Carratt noted of the famous family: 'This approach is garnering them even more attention than traditional TV appearances and is creating numerous career opportunities for the entire family...

'I believe Scarlett and her younger cousin Teddy are poised for fabulous opportunities in the entertainment industry, and I can see Scarlett potentially joining a girl band as she gets older.'

Despite protestations from Ryan, Scarlett, who has made a number of red carpet appearances, appears to be the biggest nepo-baby in the traditional sense, with both her mum and dad being Corrie stars. 

Ryan shares Scarlett with his former partner and Coronation Street co-star Tina O'Brien. They dated from 2003 until 2009. He is now engaged to TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh after meeting in 2017 while filming Celebrity Island with Bear Grylls.

He popped the question in June 2019 - adding further TV stardom into the lineage - and the couple are parents to son Roman, five, and daughter Lilah, three. 

Her famous family connections don't end there, as her father is Corrie star Ryan Thomas and her mother is his former co-star Tina O'Brien , 41, while her other uncle is Love Island's Scott Thomas
Adam pictured in his role as Donte Charles in Waterloo Road with his son Teddy (bottom) and niece Scarlett (middle) playing his children with Katie Griffiths as Chlo Charles
The Thomas family have become something of a showbiz dynasty, helmed by Ryan, 41, and twins Adam and Scott, 37 (L-R)
Scarlett is pictured on the red carpet at the British Soap awards with her mum Tina O'Brien in May
The Thomas Fam TikTok boasts a whopping 930.5k followers and often features viral trends, Scarlett singing and general hijinks
The family are well-known for sharing family life (L-R: Ryan holding his son Roman, five, Scott with Adam's daughter Elsie-Rose, seven, Teddy, 10, and Adam)

Scarlett has made herself an extremely prominent presence on social media as well as featuring heavily on the family's shared TikTok page. 

The Thomas Fam TikTok boasts a whopping 930.5k followers and often features viral trends, Scarlett singing and general hijinks. 

Their social media japes including Scarlett challenging her father and uncles to guess how many boys she's kissed - as part of a game of 'Who knows Scarlett best?'.

She also asked what her favourite drink was, before revealing it is 'vodka and orange' - despite the legal drinking age in the UK being 18. 

Scarlett made her acting debut on Waterloo Road in 2023 alongside Adam's son Teddy, 10. Adam is married to Caroline Thomas, née Daly, a professional dancer who owns her own theatre school, the ABCD School of Dance and Drama in Timperley.

The duo met in 2007 when Adam was 19 and starring as Donte Charles in Waterloo Road and have been married since 2017 and have two children. 

In May 2018, the pair welcomed a second child, daughter Elsie-Rose. 

Teddy plays Donte's son Tommy, while Scarlett plays his daughter Izzy. Despite scooping the prestigious role, Ryan insisted nepotism did not play a part. 

Adam's wife Caroline also joins the brothers on their channel
The family matriarch Gail Waring also makes cameos on the channel

Speaking in an interview with The Sun, Ryan previously defended his daughter's start in the industry and claimed she wasn't at an unfair advantage.

He said: 'Everyone thinks she gets a lift up from family, getting on Waterloo Road. But she worked damn hard to get that job, and people need to recognise that she's a talented girl – she's up against other people and she's not getting a free ride...

'She has to go through the same process as everyone else – it was between her and somebody else. It wasn't like, "This is a Thomas, she's going to get this job".'

He also hit back at social media critics who left negative comments on Scarlett's TikTok video about not taking her GCSEs. 

He defiantly said: 'Is it even anyone's business or concern though?'

Ryan has previously noted showbiz runs in the family's veins, thanks to their father: 'We were all competing for the spotlight. I’ve got to give some of the credit to our dad, too – he was Dougie James, from Dougie James and the Soul Train....

'Watching him as a showman and an entertainer was very influential, even if none of us inherited the ability to sing a note. 

'He died of a heart attack in 2020 and it was one of the hardest things me and my brothers have been through.'

While Scott does not have children, he is certainly a launchpad among the Thomases to help propel the younger generation to stardom. 

Scott runs his own PR agency, which he set up prior to finding fame on Love Island in 2016. He founded The Social PR, a creative agency that reinvents marketing and talent management. The company manages influencers he is the CEO.

Speaking about The Social PR, he said: 'I had the agency before I went on Love Island and I am lucky to have an amazing business partner in Francesca Britton who kept things ticking over while I was in [Love Island].' 

Francesca is Molly-Mae Hague's PR, so undoubtedly a good contact for aspiring influencer Scarlett.  

Read this on dailymail
  Contact Us
  Follow Us
Site Map
Get Site Map
  About

Read the latest local and international news from trusted sources in one place.