Adam Thomas shot to fame as Donte Charles on Waterloo Road but the majority of TV fans will know him best as Emmerdale's Adam Barton.

The actor, 35, portrayed Adam in the ITV soap for over eight years, having initially took on the role in 2009. He took on some big storylines during his soap stint, but in 2018 Adam shocked fans when he announced he was set to exit Emmerdale.

Adam, who is competing on this year's Strictly Come Dancing, departed the ITV show in a bid to take on new opportunities and challenges, which he's certainly achieved over the past few years.

His exit statement read: “'I've had an amazing eight years working on Emmerdale and I've loved every minute of it. It was a really tough decision to take to leave but I felt that now is the time to move on and challenge myself with some new roles.

"I'd like to thank everyone at Emmerdale for both giving me the opportunity to work as part of such a great team and for giving my character Adam Barton some great storylines too.”

Later that same year, Adam became a property executive for the Kamani Property Group alongside Emmerdale co-star Marc Silcock and made his stage debut in Nativity! The Musical.

The following year, he played the role of Rob in an episode of BBC's Moving On, and it was then announced that he'd be jetting to Australia to host spin-off show I'm A Celebrity… Extra Camp, alongside Joel Dommett and Emily Atack after coming in third place on the show in 2016. However, Extra Camp was axed the following year due to costs.

Adam, who has since reprised his role as Donte on Waterloo Road after the show was recommissioned in 2021, has previously hinted that an Emmerdale return could happen in the future. Speaking on ITV's Lorraine, he admitted he misses his co-stars and "would love to go back".

“You genuinely do become such a huge family, yeah I miss them all so much. Never say never, I would love to go back one day," Adam said. “If the story was right, yeah definitely. It’s always held a special place in my heart.”

In 2023, Adam joined the Strictly Come Dancing line-up alongside the likes of Zara McDermott, Les Dennis, Nigel Harman, Ellie Leach and Angela Scanlon.

Adam and his partner Luba Mushtuk have so far impressed the judges with their performances, and managed to escape elimination in the fifth week after being saved in a dance off against Zara.

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