BBC in 'nepo' row after casting Waterloo Road star's son and niece
BBC embroiled in ‘nepo-babies’ row after casting the real-life son and niece of Waterloo Road star as his children in the popular drama
- Scarlett, 13, is daughter of Thomas’ older brother, Coronation Street actor Ryan
- His son, Teddy, eight, has also bagged a role on the prime-time drama as Tommy
- Thomas previously starred in the series as a teenager between 2006 to 2009
The BBC has been accused of nepotism after casting the real-life son and niece of one of the main stars on its popular prime-time drama Waterloo Road.
Parents of young actors are furious that Teddy and Scarlett Thomas were given roles as the on-screen children of Adam Thomas, who plays Donte Charles, one of the show’s main characters.
Scarlett, 13, is the daughter of Thomas’s older brother Ryan, who previously starred in Coronation Street, and Tina O’Brien, who still appears in the ITV soap.
Scarlett was hired to play teenager Izzi Charles – it’s her first acting role. Meanwhile, Adam’s son Teddy, eight, was handed the role of Tommy.
Teddy Thomas, eight, and Scarlett Thomas, 13, the real-life son and niece of Adam Thomas (right) have been given roles in the new series of BBC prime-time drama Waterloo Road
The Mail on Sunday has been contacted by parents of other young actors who went for the roles and they describe the casting as a ‘fix’.
In an echo of the ‘nepo-baby’ story that rocked the American celebrity world last year, one said: ‘It is a blatant fix. My daughter went for the role and she didn’t hear anything back at all. Now we know why. It seems very suspicious that two children from the same very close-knit acting family got two of the important parts.’
Adam Thomas, who previously appeared on Emmerdale, admitted in an interview last week that he helped Teddy and Scarlett win their roles, saying: ‘If I can help put a foot through the door, then I’m going to do it.
‘But at the end of the day they’ve still got to do the talking and they do that on the show.’
He also admitted that Teddy was drafted in after another actor pulled out.
Thomas, who came third on reality show I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here in 2016, also starred in Waterloo Road as a teenager between 2006 and 2009 and is understood to still be close to some of the production executives.
Waterloo Road is made by production companies Wall To Wall and the Manchester-based Rope Ladder Fiction, founded by Sky’s former head of drama, Cameron Roach.
Actor Adam Thomas previously starred in the series as a teenager between 2006 and 2009
On the Rope Ladder website, it says that among its biggest priorities is ‘social inclusion’, which is defined as the process of improving the terms of participation in society, particularly for people who are disadvantaged, often connected with factors affecting a person’s or community’s social or economic circumstances.
The current series Waterloo Road which is based around a high school in Greater Manchester, tells the stories of the challenges experienced by teachers, parents and pupils.
It also highlights the problems that teenagers face today, including the cost-of-living crisis, navigating being LGBTQ+, racism, sexism and mental health.
Katie Griffiths plays Chlo, the mother of Izzi and Tommy. Angela Griffin is the head teacher, while Strictly star Kym Marsh makes her debut on the show as a troubled school kitchen employee and mother of two teenagers.
A still from the new series of BBC prime-time drama Waterloo Road, which returned this week
A spokesman for Wall To Wall and Rope Ladder Fiction said last night: ‘Following our open casting-call online, Waterloo Road auditioned hundreds of young actors for over 15 roles as pupils, many of whom attended open auditions at schools and youth clubs in the North of England, ensuring that roles in the new series were open to all.’
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