Emmerdale fans were devastated back in 2018 when Gerry Roberts was killed off.
The teenager, who had been Lachlan White’s cellmate during his stint in jail, was murdered at the hands of his former friend. He first appeared in the Dales in 2017, and became a firm favourite after striking up a friendship with Liv Flaherty.
Lachlan murdered Gerry with a brick at the B&B after he found out the horrifying truth that the youngster orchestrated the deaths of his mum and grandad, Chrissie and Lawrence.
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But where is actor Shaun Thomas now, six years to the day after Gerry was killed off in Emmerdale?
From his major Hollywood roles to his stint in Casualty, Daily Star has taken a look into the star’s life since Emmerdale.
Why did Shaun leave Emmerdale?
(Image: mirror.co.uk)
Shaun admitted he was “shocked and upset” after learning his character Gerry would be killed off.
He admitted at the time that he was only supposed to appear in Emmerdale for two episodes while filming the prison scenes with Lachlan. Shaun confessed: “It was a shock because I was only meant to come here for two episodes in the prison scenes with Lachlan, and then I ended up staying here for a year and a half.
“So I really got used to being around everybody and making a connection with everybody. And then to be told that it would be coming to an end, it were pretty upsetting.”
He admitted he would have stayed in the show if he’d been asked – but sadly wasn’t given the chance.
Hollywood fame
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Thankfully, Shaun’s acting career certainly didn’t die off with Gerry. Since waving goodbye to Emmerdale, Shaun Thomas has nabbed himself a cracking role in the hit coming-of-age comedy Ladhood, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Liam Williams and Oscar Kennedy.
The lad played Tom Cragg for 12 episodes from 2019 to 2021 and seems to be loving life post-Dales, as he’s always bigging up the show on his Twitter feed. Not just content with TV gigs, Shaun also bagged a part in this year’s drama flick Ali and Ava, where he stars as Callum.
But it wasn’t Emmerdale that first put Shaun on the map oh no!
Before he was dodging drama in the Dales, he was mixing it with the big guns in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, alongside acting royalty like Judi Dench, Samuel L Jackson and Asa Butterfield, playing the beatboxing teen Dylan.
Shaun’s not just a one-trick pony though; he’s got a list of film creds to his name including The Brothers Grimsby and The Selfish Giant, plus a spot on crime series WPC 56 back in 2014.
Last year, he saw his star on the rise again as he landed a role in coming-of-age drama How To Have Sex. He also appeared as Neil Jackson in four episodes of The Long Shadow.
Soap Swap
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Emmerdale might’ve been his home turf, but Shaun’s soap journey didn’t end there.
After clocking up a hefty 92 episodes on ITV’s gem, he jumped ship to a totally different soap world following Gerry’s grim exit. He popped up in BBC’s Casualty in 2021, playing Bruno Wilding for an episode.
Despite it being a brief stint, Shaun left fans buzzing, with Twitter going mad for his appearance. One superfan tweeted: “Gerry from Emmerdale is on Casualty!” while another chirped: “Gerry’s alive!”
Another fan chimed in with: “It’s Gerry from Emmerdale, remember him!”
Award nods
(Image: BBC/Jack Barnes)
Shaun Thomas has not only raked in acting credits but has also been acknowledged with numerous accolades. In 2014, he bagged the Best Supporting Actor gong at Film Club’s The Lost Weekend awards for his role in the short film The Selfish Giant.
He also won the award for Best British Newcomer at the London Film Festival, sharing the plaudit with Conner Chapman. Further, Shaun was nominated for three other prizes for the same film that aired on Film4.
Though Shaun left behind his character in Emmerdale, distancing him from his former co-stars appears to be more challenging. The actor remains connected to his ex-colleagues on Twitter, including Mark Charnock (Marlon Dingle), Amy Walsh (Tracy Metcalfe) and Isobel Steele (Liv Flaherty).
James Hooton, who portrays Sam Dingle, was quick to express how much they’d miss Shaun, tweeting in 2018: “Real shame to lose a charismatic young talent like @ShaunThomas97, a joy to work with and fun to be around!” Cheekily, he added: “I look forward to watching his career soar onwards and upwards! Needs to work on his tracking back at football though..”
Adam Thomas, a former Emmerdale star known for playing Adam Barton, also reached out to congratulate Shaun on his commendable performance. Posting on Twitter, the King of the Jungle wrote: “The world is yours bro, congrats on everything you’ve achieved so far my man… now the fun begins! Wish you all the best.”
However, the impact was felt far beyond just those in immediate circle – reaching as far as Manchester.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
