14 October 2023 , 16:00
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Strictly Come Danicng star Adam Thomas has revealed he had an emotional confrontation with his father who disappeared from the lives of him and and his brothers for six years, following his parent's acrimonious split.
The former Emmerdale star, 35, who is a father of two himself, embarked on a month long trip to India along with his brothers, former Coronation Street star Ryan and Love Island's Scott Thomas, in a bid to explore their family roots - for their new ITV documentary Absolutely India: Mancs In Mumbai. And it was during this adventure that also included their dad Dougie James, Adam along with his brothers were able to grow closer to their father, who was absent for some of their childhood.
Adam Thomas and his brothers have an emotional confrontation with dad who was absent for some of their childhood (ITV)The trio's grandfather was of Indian descent and travelled to the UK in 1947 to start a better life for himself. Speaking of their emotional trip during an interview with Star TV magazine, Adam said: "My dad left us for years when we were younger and then he came back into our lives and we never really talked about it. There were a lot of unanswered questions that we’d never talked about and this trip was the right time to do it."
And Scott, who is the non-identical twin of Ryan told Weekend magazine: "We didn’t see him in all that time, then when Ryan turned 16 he came back into our lives. It was a hard time for us, which is something we had to deal with on this trip." The group visited the Dharavi slum which is known to be the most populated place on earth with 700,000 people living in just 0.8 square miles.
Dougie and Adam's mum Gail, split amid conflict soon after Ryan and his twin Scott were born. As the boys travelled around India Adam, Ryan and Scott claim that the trip put things into perspective for them. The former Corrie star, who is a father of three added: "He (Dougie) always referred to his dad as his hero. And the moment it hit him was when he went to where our granddad went to school. I said, 'Dad, this is the exact same playground that your dad played in when he was a child'."
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Adam, who married Caroline Daly in 2017, has been impressing his Strictly judges with his techniques on the dancefloor but he recently revealed that he has also been battling a painful health condition. Earlier this year, the TV star admitted that he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which a condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in the joints.
Sharing an update with his fans on social media, the star who is also on BBC's Waterloo Road, posted a picture of himself in hospital as he underwent more tests to help treat his condition. He captioned the post saying: "One day I will get my arthritis under control but until then... more bloods and more doctors. Staying strong."
Back in August Adam shared the news of his medical condition publicly, revealing he had been struggling with symptoms since the beginning of the year. He wrote online at the time: "I’ve been in a lot of pain since January, it started with my knees and then traveled to my wrists, fingers and now ankles and toes."
He added: "I never knew what was happening and finally after several blood tests and back and forth to doctors and hospitals, I’ve been diagnosed with rheumatoid Arthritis! I thought that was something people, later on in there life get… but that’s not the case, clearly!"