Emmerdale Thomas family – heartbreaking loss, forgotten Corrie role and co-star affair

The Emmerdale Thomas family have had their fair share of dramas since arriving in the village.

However, the actors who play the fan favourite characters have led as equally interesting lives too.

Away from the dales, the Thomas family actors have had forgotten soap roles, shared their secret talents and had stints on popular reality series.

However, they have also opened up about heartbreak in their life, as well their co-star romances.

READ MORE: Emmerdale teen stars now – £1.6m fortune, soap axe, pop career and co-star romance

As Gabby Thomas tries to impress Kim Tate in Emmerdale tonight, Daily Star has taken a look at the lives of the Thomas family away from our screens.

Arthur Thomas (Alfie Clarke)

Laurel and Ashley Thomas’ son Arthur has been played by a number of actors, with Billy Harrower and Luis Townley sharing the role between 2007 to 2008.

However, Emmerdale are the actors only listed TV roles and it is unknown what the stars are up to now.

Since 2009, Arthur has been played by youngster Alfie Clarke, who won Best Young Actor at the Inside Soap Awards in 2017.

Following the death of on-screen father Ashley Thomas, following the character’s death after being diagnosed with Alzheimers, Alfie completed a sponsored swim to raise £5,000 for the Alzheimers Charity.

While not much is known about the young star’s life, his mum does keep followers updated on Twitter, including one sweet post to celebrate his 13th birthday.

Sharing a sweet snap of him smiling in front of number 13 balloons, his mum wrote: “Officially a teenager. A unique birthday as he’s spending it in lockdown and in isolation #13 #happybirthdayAlfie.”

Gabby Thomas (Rosie Bentham and Annelise Manojlovic)

Two actresses have played Gabby Thomas since the character was first introduced as a baby in 2001.

The first star to take on the role was Annelise Manojlovic, who played Gabby between 2001 and 2015.

When the role was re-cast, Annelise went on to study for a Ballet Performance Bachelor of Arts degree at the School of Ballet Theatre UK.

While the star tends to keep her personal life private, the talent website Mandy lists Annelise as being interested in working on cruise ships, holiday entertainment and in musical theatre, after swapping acting for dancing.

Since Annelise left Emmerdale, Gabby Thomas has been played by Rosie Bentham from 2016, where viewers have seen her now grown up character welcome a baby with Jamie Tate and nearly being imprisoned alongside Liv Dingle.

Although Gabby is Rosie’s first major TV role, the actress has some hidden celebrity links, as she attended Nottingham’s Television Workshop Drama Group, where alumni includes Line of Duty’s Vicki McClure and fellow Emmerdale star Lucy Pargeter.

Rosie has even said she is a fan of Line of Duty and would love to explore similar dramas in her career, but also would love to stay on Emmerdale for as long as possible.

However away from our screens, the actress has also faced tragedy in her real life, after her dad John died in 2019 from a pulmonary embolism (blood clot) – one week before her 18th birthday.

Speaking about her dad’s death, Rosie told The Mirror that his death was a huge shock, saying: “I just couldn’t believe it because he hadn’t been ill beforehand.

“I got angry because I couldn’t understand why and how it had happened,” said Rosie. “I can remember saying ‘No, no, no’.”

She hopes that by sharing her own experiences of grief, that it will help other people going through the same thing, saying: “I don’t mind if people ask me about memories of my dad because I’ve got so many lovely ones.”

Ashley Thomas (John Middleton)

Thomas family patriarch Rev.Ashley was played by John Middleton between 1996 to 2017 – but the actor was already a huge name in another rival soap.

In 1993, the actor played John Hargreaves in Coronation Street, who was responsible for accidently killing Lisa Duckworth on the cobbles.

He later appeared in Corrie again as a hospital consultant in 1995, as well as playing PC John Jarvis in Emmerdale’s Post Office Raid in 1994.

The star also appeared in Cracker, Heartbeat, Medics and Prime Suspect.

However, he is most famous for playing Ashley Thomas in Emmerdale, who had a short-lived marriage to Bernice Blackstock and welcomed son Arthur with second wife Laurel, before the character sadly died in 2017 after being diagnosed with dementia.

He later won Best Actor and Best Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards 2017.

Collecting his awards, John said: “Most people have some experience of this disease.

“I’ve found it really quite astonishing, the number of people who have come up to me and said ‘Thank you very much for doing that; my Dad had this’ or ‘My Mum died a few years ago and she had this.’

“That’s what drama’s for; it’s for holding out a hand to people and saying, ‘You’re not alone.’”

Since then, John has had guest roles in TV series such as Doctors.

He also works closely with a number of charities, including The Trussell Trust and The Alzheimers Society.

Away from the limelight, the actor is married to his wife Christine and has two children, called Jack and George.

Bernice Thomas (Samantha Giles)

Samantha Giles has become an Emmerdale icon since arriving on the soap as Bernice Blackstock in 1998 – later to become Bernice Thomas.

After playing the role until 2002, she later made a return to the soap in 2004, where she has remained ever since.

However, the star has had a number of roles away from Emmerdale, including playing Kirsty in Coronation Street in 1994 and Valerie Holden in Hollyoaks.

She has also appeared in New Voices, Where The Heart Is and Crime Stories, to name a few.

During her time on Emmerdale though, it was revealed that Samantha had an affair with one of her co-stars.

While playing Kim Tate, Claire met ex-husband Peter Amory, who played her stepson Chris Tate in the soap.

However, it was reported by The Mirror that their 10-year marriage broke down when it was revealed that Peter was having an affair with Samantha.

Talking to The Mirror in 2005, Claire said: “I questioned Pete and he admitted it had been going on for a while.

“He told me it was over but then it started again. At that point I said: ‘Well, you have to go with her then, because it obviously isn’t going to stop.'”

It is alleged that Claire had found out about the affair after Samantha’s first husband Nick Moore wrote to her to inform them of their relationship.

Speaking about the letter on Loose Women, Claire said that the affair was not Samantha’s fault.

“She wanted that second chance, and I’ve been in that situation with my marriage. And I gave my husband Pete a second chance,” she said.

Claire continued: “I found out about it through a letter from the girl’s husband and my agent rang me saying ‘There are bits and pieces in the paper’. It wasn’t anything to do with her.”

However, Claire has said that she, Samantha and Peter are still close friends and are on good terms, telling The Mirror: “We were close and we’ll always be mates.”

Away from the limelight, Samantha is now married to production manager husband Sean Pritchard, with who she shares two children.

During an appearance on Lorraine, the star even revealed that she identifies as a white witch – and successfully cast a love spell to find a husband.

She said: “I’ve always been a Wiccan, a white witch, so I cast a love spell before I met Sean to meet the right person.”

She continued: “I use candles and crystals in the magic I do. I wrote down exactly what I was after. Then I met Sean and he was exactly what I had written. It’s as if he appeared by magic!”

Laurel Thomas (Charlotte Bellamy)

Charlotte Bellamy has played Laurel Thomas in Emmerdale since 2002 – but did you know that she had a role in another rival soap?

In 1997 she played Sue Taylor in EastEnders, after landing roles in A Touch Of Frost and The Bill.

Away from the limelight, Charlotte has been married to childhood sweetheart Mungo Denison since 2012, with who she shares three children.

The couple were in a relationship for more than 18 years before tying the knot, with Charlotte telling The Mirror: “We sat there at breakfast and said to the kids, ‘We’re getting married today’, and they were like, ‘What?’

“Suddenly it seemed like the right thing to do and we wanted to do it our way.

“For some people, a big wedding is the dream and of course that’s great but it wasn’t really our style.”

The actress also gushed about her hubby, who works as the co-founder and director of SKY MAGIC Drone Shows, who assisted with the London 2021 New Years Eve Fireworks.

Taking to Twitter, Charlotte praised her husband’s work, saying: “A little bit proud of the hubby last night and their incredible team ⁦

@Skymagicdrones for the drone show that saw in 2021. You all smashed it.”

For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.

READ MORE:

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk