Scarlett Thomas won’t have to worry too much about not taking her GCSEs as she’s predicted to make millions – but dad Ryan Thomas has hit back at those hammering his parenting
16:17, 25 Aug 2025Updated 10:04, 26 Aug 2025
Ryan Thomas has made his feelings clear on the situation (Image: youtube)
Ticked-off Ryan Thomas says the decision to allow daughter Scarlett to not sit her GCSE is no-one else’s business.
Last week, the young actress, 15, raised eyebrows by admitting she didn’t do her exams. She said that she will “forever wonder” if she could have had “good results” herself as hundreds of thousands of youngsters found out how they got on.
Over the footage on Instagram, she wrote to fans: “Watching everyone get there GCSE results today wondering if I could’ve had good results but I will forever wonder.” Scarlett, who used Phoebe Bridgers’ song Sidelines as the soundtrack to it, congratulated students in the caption.
READ MORE: Inside the showbiz life of Scarlett Thomas as she admits she didn’t take her GCSEsREAD MORE: X Factor star looks unrecognisable after major post-show surgeryShe made the confession on results day (Image: scarlettjthomas26/tiktok)
She wrote on the platform: “Well done everyone you all should be beyond proud whatever results you got.” It drew criticism – and one of her parents have bitten back on social media. Tina O’Brien and Ryan Thomas couldn’t be prouder of their 15-year-old daughter, who is shining in her role on Waterloo Road.
Actor Ryan snapped after one fan criticised the decision, saying it was ‘unacceptable’ for the teenager to forgo sitting the important exams to focus on her acting career. He responded: “Is it even anyone’s business or concern though?”
But after revealing she didn’t take any GCSEs, it looks like Scarlett won’t have to worry too much as she’s reportedly set for a huge payday. The young actor is predicted to earn up to £2 million before her 18th birthday with her huge presence on social media.
The young star has already kicked off her acting career (Image: BBC/Wall To Wall/Rope Ladder Fiction/Helen Williams)
Aside from her acting career as Izzy Charles on BBC school drama, Scarlett has become a name on social media, with 204,000 followers on TikTok and 142,000 on Instagram and it looks like things are only on the up for her.
PR expert Lynn Carratt told MailOnline that the Thomas family are “close-knit” and know how to use social media to “build their careers”. She added: “Each member is talented in their own right.
“Scarlett often appears in videos with her dad and uncles, showcasing her singing and acting skills. With both parents in TV, their talent has clearly rubbed off on Scarlett. She comes across as a confident and likeable girl who is close to her family.”
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She continued: “I believe Scarlett and her younger cousin Teddy are poised for fabulous opportunities in the entertainment industry, and I can see Scarlett potentially joining a girl band as she gets older.”
Proud dad Ryan, 41, previously insisted his daughter ‘won’t be getting a free ride’ as he discussed her role on Waterloo Road.
He told The Sun: “She worked damn hard to get that job, and people need to recognise that she’s a talented girl – she’s up against other people and she’s not getting a free ride.
“She has to go through the same process as everyone else – it was between her and somebody else. It wasn’t like, ‘This is a Thomas, she’s going to get this job’.”
Ryan and Scarlett’s mum Tina, 42, dated from 2003 to 2009 and welcomed Scarlett in 2008 before parting ways a year later.
Ryan has since got engaged to Lucy and they’ve welcomed children Roman and Lilah while Tina is also mum to son Beau, from her previous marriage to Adam Crofts.
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