Ryan Thomas threw an extravagant 18th birthday celebration for his daughter Scarlett at a swanky Manchester restaurant on Tuesday night, but her mother, Coronation Street star Tina O'Brien, was noticeably absent.
The Waterloo Road actress was surrounded by her famous family and friends for the lavish dinner, with dad Ryan, 42, pulling out all the stops to make the night memorable for his daughter, who hopes to carve out a career as a singer.
Family and friends gather
Scarlett was joined by her uncles, Adam and Scott, while step-mum Lucy Mecklenburgh posed with the teen alongside her auntie, Caroline. One image showed Scarlett posing in front of her cake, decorated with faux diamonds and Strawberry Rita buzzballz, while another snap captured her pulling a large amount of cash from the cake and covering her mouth in shock.
Scarlett was also left speechless when her friend and Waterloo Road co-star Hattie Dynevor arrived at the restaurant. During the night, she looked back through a family photo album.
Social media reactions
Captioning his post, Ryan wrote: "Happy 18th angel – a night we will never forget." His post was soon flooded with celebratory messages. Lucy-Jo Hudson gushed: "Wow she is stunning! 18? How did that happen! Happy birthday, gorgeous girl." Pussycat Dolls star Ashley Roberts added: "18!! Wow. Beautiful." Sally Morgan typed: "Happy happy birthday 18 today wowwwwzerrr , have a wonderful day much love xx S& F."
Mother's absence
Scarlett's mum was nowhere to be seen at the celebration. Instead, Tina shared a clip of Celebrity Traitors star, Joanne McNally, during her appearance on The Jimmy Fallon Show, on her Instagram Story. Just before Scarlett turned one, Tina and Ryan split.
"He said he didn't love me any more," Tina divulged to New! magazine in 2009, acknowledging that adapting to parenthood had put a strain on their union. His blunt confession left her shattered: "He said I didn't do it for him any more. Those were his words. I was absolutely devastated. He said he didn't want the responsibility of a relationship with me."
The pair remained amicable, with Ryan and Lucy being invited to Tina's wedding to Adam Crofts in 2018. However, the former couple were far from co-parenting blissfully by 2022, when Tina reportedly smashed Ryan's Range Rover wing mirror with a baseball bat after the pair became embroiled in a furious row. The alleged incident occurred in March 2022, when Tina stepped out of a friend's party to confront Ryan as he arrived. It's alleged that subsequently, his Range Rover was targeted with a baseball bat, leading to scratched paintwork and a "smashed off" wing mirror.
