Strictly star Adam Thomas' secret relative as his complicated past exposed

07 October 2023 , 17:05

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Strictly star Adam Thomas' secret relative as his complicated past exposed

Strictly star Adam Thomas won the hearts of the nation with his emotional response to his performance on the dance floor on Saturday.

Critiquing his Tango head judge Shirley Ballas said: "Character good, footwork soft but mistakes and out-of-sync bits," while Motsi Mabuse remarked: "Acting skills helped sell it, more engaged and powerful but needed stronger technique." Adam appeared tearful listening to the comments and wiped his eyes while standing next to Luba.

Speaking to Claudia Winkleman after the performance, he said: "I'm not smiling now, I'll be honest with you. I tried my hardest and I feel like I let [Luba] down, I'm sorry." Luba insisted: "I loved dancing that with you, I'm so proud."

Adam became emotional on Saturday's Strictly show

Craig Revel Horwood scored Adam a five, Motsi, six, Shirley, five and Anton Du Beke, seven, giving the Emmerdale actor a total of 23 points. Strictly viewers were quick to praise Adam, who has been suffering with his rheumatoid arthritis this week, as one tweeted: "Adam is very hard on himself. It’s always those people who get to the final! He needs to ease the pressure on himself a little though. I enjoyed it! #Strictly."

Outside of the Strictly ballroom, Adam has a close relationship with his famous brothers. Along with his two siblings, Love Island star Scott, and Coronation street actor Ryan, he had little knowledge of their family history until jetting off to India for a documentary about their family life. Adam, Scott and Ryan explored their Indian roots in the hope of seeking out long lost relatives, but their journey of discovery brought up some questions closer to home.

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Scott, Ryan and Adam Thomas go on a journey of discovery with Dad Dougie (ITV)

When twins Adam and Scott were just seven-years-old, dad Dougie walked out and completely disappeared from their lives. The boys held no grudges and he reappeared a few years later, but it makes what they discovered about their secret family members even more poignant in ITV's Absolutely India: Mancs in Mumbai.

Hoping to unlock the mystery surrounding their grandad’s early years, the lads revealed they were puzzled by their British surname. In a bid to get answers they headed to their Grandad’s former school and met up with headmistress Blossom Lillywhite, which lead to a major discovery.

Revealing that they are in fact Angelo Indian, something they never knew, Blossom explained: "In your case it was somebody from Britain or a European country who came into India many moons ago and married an Indian. The offspring is known as Angelo Indian." There were more shocks to come when Blossom revealed she has done some digging and found dad Dougie's cousin still living in Mumbai.

The Thomas boys find out that they have a relative in Mumbai they've never met before (ITV)

Heading to the iconic and affluent Marine Drive, a beautiful promenade that curves along the Arabian sea, the nerves kicked in for the brothers who admitted that they were worried about meeting their cousin.

"I'm a little bit apprehensive this morning. To actually realise we have living Thomas' in the city is beyond imagination," confesses Love Island star Scott. Former Emmerdale actor Adam asks: "I’m a little bit nervous, what if she doesn’t like us?".

The Thomas' worries quickly disappeared once they met Keshia, who certainly shared the big personality and humour that the boys have. The lads admitted they feel like they have known her all their lives, while Keshia claimed they are all good looking and have the same nose as her.

The Thomas boys meet their dad's cousin, Keshia, in Mumbai (ITV)

However, unbeknownst to the brothers, the similarities continued to unfold as Keshia is also an entertainer and sings in some of the city’s most popular bars and clubs. They joined their cousin at one of her events - and Dougie was in for a pleasant surprise when he was called up on stage to sing.

Dougie, who used to sing with 70s band Dougie James and the Soul Train, delighted the crowd with some classic hits as his proud sons watch on. "It always has been emotional watching my dad sing," confessed an emotional Ryan.

"When I was growing up my dad had this tape and I used to listen to it every night before bed and it was something I was holding on to when he left. The song he’s singing on the stage tonight was the same song, it was my memory when he wasn’t there. It gets you.”

The Thomas clan explore their Indian heritage (ITV)

The boys explored all that India had to offer, which meant immersing themselves in the unique culture, even if some of it terrifieed them. They went to the popular street markets which housed an array of Indian barbers, where Scott tried one of the city’s experimental hair cutting techniques.

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Getting a tip to visit the ‘hottest’ hairdresser in town, the boys got more than they bargained for as they soon discovered that ‘hottest’ involved setting fire to the hair. Nervous, Scott was assured by the hairdresser that it would give volume, removing all the dry and dead hair.

A barber sets fire to terrified Scott's hair (ITV)

But dad Dougie, who started yelling "burn baby burn", heldsa fire extinguisher while telling his son: "I should have bought some marshmallows." Mocking his twin brother, Adam cheekily added: "Nah that was already there."

The former Waterloo Road actor got his comeuppance when he opted to have the traditional ear cleaning on the side of a street. That was much to the amusement of dad Dougie, who said it was like "burrowing into the brain" as the expert places metal pins in his ears.

A nervous Adam asked if it hurt and he soon got his answer when he started screaming, yelling: "It feels so weird dad." He was stunned by how much wax the expert pulled out of his ear and questions whether it is real. Afterwards he joked to brothers Ryan and Scott: "It was amazing, everything seems a lot louder."

Having previously explored the rich and vibrant food at one the city’s most popular markets, the brothers went off to find some peace in one of the most populated countries in the world.

In a bid to get some much needed time out, they went to the renowned meditation mecca, the Vipassana Pagoda, in the north west of Mumbai. The brothers were amazed by the vast and expansive building, which Ryan jokingly compared it to Manchester’s largest shopping centre, admitting: "(it has) the feel of the Trafford Centre."

As the boys attempted to switch off from their surroundings and be quiet for one minute, Ryan added, "That’s a long time for my brothers to say silent! I fell asleep in there. I don't know if that was supposed to happen or not," admitted Adam.

Kyle O'Sullivan