Ryan Thomas has disclosed that a former Coronation Street co-star reprimanded him for what was described as 'cocky behaviour' on set, with the actor confessing, 'I was an absolute d******d.'
The 41-year-old portrayed Jason Grimshaw on the ITV soap opera from 2000 to 2016, with a brief return last year. Speaking on the podcast At Home With The Thomas Bros alongside his brothers Adam Thomas and Scott Thomas, Ryan reflected on his early days in Weatherfield.
The conversation followed Adam, 37, opening up about his tumultuous experience on I'm A Celebrity... South Africa. Ryan remarked: 'Showbiz is a bit of a crazy world, bro. I'll even talk about myself, like growing up, you know my ego and things I used to do. But I was a young kid growing up in the public eye, and I could say at times I was actually a proper d******d.'
Adam responded with a simple 'Yeah.' Ryan continued: 'I wear my heart on my sleeve. I remember Charlie Dale pulling me to one side. He played Dennis in Corrie. He pulled me aside in the green room and said, "You're acting a little bit cocky, and people are seeing it, and it's not looking good." I was like, "Yeah, I needed that." But the problem now is growing up in showbiz. Everyone's playing the game, right? But the great thing about the game now is, have you noticed the game's changing? No one wants to see the filtered version of anyone anymore. Everyone's seen the light; everyone can see through it.'
Charles Dale, 63, played Dennis Stringer, partner to Jason's mother Eileen Grimshaw, from 2000 to 2002. This revelation comes amid a 'bullying' row between Adam and former boxer David Haye, with the TV star breaking down and revealing he has been in therapy after clashing with the athlete on the show.
Adam had a fractious relationship with David, 45, during their time in the South African jungle, filmed last September. David has since been accused of 'bullying' after a series of swipes towards Adam were aired, including branding the actor 'useless' for excusing himself from a trial due to his health. He took another swipe at Adam on social media on Tuesday night, and Adam has revealed he is now receiving therapy following their jungle run-in.
Speaking on the same podcast, Adam emotionally said the row 'f***ed' with him. Breaking down in tears, he said: 'It was like being back in school again, and although it wasn't physical bullying or anything like that, and I'm not saying it's bullying, but he was just mind f***ing me. I never stuck up for myself while I was in there, and I was like, "s**t bro, I wish I stuck up for myself." That was beating me up more than anything.' Reflecting on David's swipes, Adam added: 'I just took it, and took it, and took it, until eventually it got to a point where I was like, "I'm literally at breaking point here."'
He added that David has since apologised to him, telling his brothers the boxer has 'a heart of gold'. However, David went on to swipe against Adam despite his apology, claiming in a new interview that his co-star was 'weak', doubling down on the bullying row and branding Adam a 'Chihuahua'. David said: 'Adam's like a kind of chihuahua. I'm more of a doberman or a pit bull or something. He's the chihuahua. He doesn't need therapy. He needs to do some push-ups, he needs to get out there and get in amongst other males who are powerful. I don't think it's bullying. If a few comments breaks him, how soft is he? How weak, how brittle-spirited is he?'
Former Emmerdale actor Adam has autoimmune condition psoriatic arthritis and struggled with fatigue and dehydration in the jungle. But David insisted: 'I didn't know about it, but I couldn't care less. Everyone's got something. Adam was jumping around, dancing. I think whatever the trial was, he didn't like the sound of it, so he's lying in bed, so I gave him some s*** about that.' The boxer went on to reveal that since leaving the jungle, he has watched Adam and his two brothers Scott and Ryan's TikTok videos, which he claimed are 'feminine'.
David sparked bullying complaints from viewers when Adam, who suffers from psoriatic arthritis, told his campmates during last Friday's episode that he wasn't feeling well enough to participate in the Termite Terror trial. The boxer took aim at him, saying: 'Who gives a s**t if he doesn't feel well. He's a grown-ass man. I don't like guys who are a bit useless. I hate them useless guys. He is useless.' They clashed again when the camp was punished for Adam sneaking in chocolate for his campmates, with Adam suggesting he wouldn't eat that night as a result. However, David chimed in suggesting 'his portion should be a little bit smaller than everyone else's' as he hit back against the camp for supporting him. Adam confronted David over his reaction to his dinner portion, calling him over and saying: 'Right, me and you outside now.' Irritated David responded: 'We got a lot less than we would have had,' as the dessert was served up, to which Scarlett Moffatt ended the row, saying: 'Leave him alone.'
