Adam Thomas has opened up on his battle with his hidden disability, which leaves him battling ‘severe pain’ and struggling to work.

The former Emmerdale star, 36, suffers from psoriatic arthritis – a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in joints and has no cure.

He first revealed his diagnosis in August 2023, as he geared up to star on Strictly Come Dancing, which meant he could barely walk ahead of his dancing debut the following month.

Adam has since kept fans updated on his condition and how he is managing the symptoms, trying a variety of medications and new diet.

Appearing on This Morning on Wednesday, the actor detailed his ‘challenging’ journey towards a diagnosis and confessed his biggest concerns were about pᴀssing the hereditary condition onto his children.

Speaking to hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, Adam began: ‘Expect the unexpected. I used to think I was invincible and it turns out I’m not.

Adam Thomas has opened up on his battle with his hidden disability, which leaves him battling ‘severe pain’ and struggling to work

The former Emmerdale star, 36, suffers from psoriatic arthritis – a long-term condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness in joints and has no cure

Appearing on This Morning on Wednesday, the actor detailed his ‘challenging’ journey towards a diagnosis and confessed his biggest concerns were about pᴀssing the hereditary condition onto his children (pictured with wife Caroline and two kids)

‘It’s been a long journey with my arthritis and it started when I had an impact injury on my knees. I couldn’t walk for weeks and it just wasn’t getting any better. I just thought I must’ve pulled something. 

‘And then a couple of weeks after that, I woke up one morning and my wrists were in so much pain. I genuinely felt like I’d broken both wrists, the pain was that severe. I went to hospital and had an X-ray because I was convinced that they were broken.’

He explained how he also went for an MRI, but the results of both the X-ray and scan came up clear, leaving him suffering for months with no answers.

He recalled: ‘It wasn’t until someone mentioned for me to get my bloods done that they found inflammation in my joints. They then referred me to a rheumatoid specialist, where I was finally diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. 

‘That was the most challenging bit for me, because I was in so much pain and nobody was giving me any answers. So not only physically, but mentally that was draining.’

Discussing how he coped with the condition, Adam admitted: ‘It was tough going to work. You have good days and bad days, but as well as getting psoriatic arthritis, you end up getting psoriasis, which is a skin condition. 

‘At the time I had it all over my body and mainly my scalp as well. Which is quite tough when you work in the television industry. Hair and makeup picking bits out my hair all the time!’

He then got candid about his fears that his two children, Teddy, 10, and Elsie, six, could inherit the chronic disease, as he recalled realising his father may have suffered from the condition.

He first revealed his diagnosis in August 2023, as he geared up to star on Strictly Come Dancing, which meant he could barely walk ahead of his dancing debut the following month (pictured on show with partner Luba Mushtuk)

Adam has since kept fans updated on his condition and how he is managing the symptoms, trying a variety of medications and new diet 

Speaking to hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley, he explained how he was left suffering for months with no answers before finally getting his diagnosis

He said: ‘It just came out of nowhere. Looking back now, my dad was in quite a lot of pain and I just don’t think he ever spoke about it.

‘But it is hereditary and that’s what worries me the most, that my kids might possibly get this one day.’

WHAT IS PSORIATIC ARTHRITIS? 

Psoriatic arthritis is a long-term condition that causes joint pain, swelling and stiffness.

The condition causes the immune system to attack its own body, primarily the joints and skin, but also organs.

Scientists believe genes and an environmental trigger, like a trauma or virus, might play a role in developing psoriatic arthritis.

About a third of people with the skin condition psoriasis will get psoriatic arthritis as they get older.

Symptoms include: pain, swelling and stiffness joints, swollen fingers or toes, nails can form tiny dents, crumble or separate from the nail beds, lower back pain, feeling drained of energy, eye inflammation and foot pain.

Symptoms can be worse first thing in the morning and may improve with exercise.

Some people may also get symptoms of psoriasis, such as dry scaly skin, at the same time.

There’s no cure for psoriatic arthritis. Treatment is aimed at controlling symptoms and preventing joint damage. 

The medicines used to treat psoriatic arthritis include: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), steroid injections, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biological treatments

Source: The NHS and Arthritis Foundation

Advertisement

He went on: ‘So I’m just doing anything and everything that I can do now to try and find a blueprint, so that if it does happen I can pass that information on.’

Adam was forced to push through his pain while competing on Strictly in 2023, as he battled his arthritis behind-the-scenes.

At the time, he admitted that it was impacting his dance training with partner Luba Mushtuk, as he said: ‘We’re trying our best to get through it and obviously there’s things I can and cannot do. Some days are definitely tougher than others.’

While professional Luba added: ‘That’s exactly what I meant by [him] not complaining because he never says anything.

‘I can see that he might hurt a little, but he never says a thing. We just keep moving and keep going.’

Reflecting on his time on the BBC competition on This Morning, Adam explained: ‘I got the diagnosis literally just before Strictly. I signed up to do Strictly way before any of this and so I just thought the pain would go away and it didn’t.

‘So doing Strictly was very challenging. If you look back at some of the dances, I don’t do any lifts or twirls because I couldn’t lift [Luba] up.’

He also discussed his controversial decision to stop taking his medication and alleviate his symptoms through a strict diet, after suffering many debilitating side effects.

He said: ‘Even after the diagnosis, it’s finding the right medication that works for you. And everybody’s different and everybody’s body is different as well, so what might work for some people might not necessarily work for you. So the medication was tough and also the side effects to that as well. 

‘There was a medication I was on called methotrexate, which is basically like a short dose of chemotherapy and as you can imagine the side effects of that were quite challenging, just being sick and drowsy and fatigued all the time. So that was challenging while trying to work as well.’

In addition to rheumatoid arthritis, methotrexate is also often given to sufferers of psoriasis, Crohn’s disease and cancer.

The main side-effect of taking such a drug is an increased inclination to catch and suffer worse from infections such as Covid-19 and the flu.

Adam then added that he was seeing a lot of positives after adopting a carnivore diet, which restricts consumption to only meat, eggs and fish, while eliminating all plant-based foods, such as fruit and vegetables.

He then got candid about his fears that his two children, Teddy, 10, and Elsie, six, could inherit the chronic disease, as he recalled realising his father may have suffered from the condition

Adam was forced to push through his pain while competing on Strictly in 2023, as he battled his arthritis behind-the-scenes (pictured on show) 

At the time, he admitted that it was impacting his dance training with partner Luba Mushtuk, as he said: ‘We’re trying our best to get through it and obviously there’s things I can and cannot do. Some days are definitely tougher than others’ 

He said: ‘It’s been a long journey , but I’m starting to see light at the end of the tunnel now, which is good. 

‘Diet is the main thing I’m doing right now. A friend of mine reached out to tell me to talk to her friend who is a scientist that studies autoimmune disease and she recommended that I try the carnivore diet. 

‘Well a couple of weeks into trying it my life changed, genuinely. My knees felt less тιԍнт, the swelling in my fingers went down. Literally just meat and eggs, that’s all I have now. 

‘Now from the start of this year, I’m just going 90 days all carnivore and I’ve decided to come off all my medication. I know it’s probably not the right thing to do, but I just wanted to try and do this as naturally as possible and look if it doesn’t work then I can go back to my medication.’

Adam previously said he has been in pain every day for two years amid his battle with arthritis, with him revealing in October that he is now in ‘unbearable pain’.

In an update with his Instagram followers, the Waterloo Road star admitted he can now ‘barely walk’ due to the debilitating nature of the condition.

He wrote: ‘The pain is pretty unbearable at the moment, it’s as if my whole body is seizing up! The pain was bad before, but it’s a lot worse now…

‘Now I wish I never came off the methotrexate because I would take that pain to this every day of the week!!

He also discussed his controversial decision to stop taking his medication and alleviate his symptoms through a strict diet, after suffering many debilitating side effects 

Adam previously said he has been in pain every day for two years amid his battle with arthritis, with him revealing in October that he is now in ‘unbearable pain’ 

Adam went on to reveal he was seeking further treatment for his intense pain, as he declared: ‘I can’t carry on like this’.

Revealing his daily struggles, he continued : ‘I couldn’t even get dressed this morning on my own, couldn’t drive to work, I mean I can barely walk and my wrists and fingers feel like they’re broken that’s no exaggeration!

‘I wouldn’t have got out of bed today if it wasn’t for work. It got better through out the day with a s**t load of painkillers!

‘But wow… these last few days have been scary had a little cry to myself today it can just really get on top of you!!

‘Am not saying this for a sob story or for sympathy just trying to bring awareness to this disease and what so many others are going through the good the bad the ugly … I’m lucky I have a great support system and not many do so to anyone who is going through the same thing and is alone! I see you you I feel you!!

‘It’s going to get better don’t give up x if you know anyone who’s suffering just give them a call and check in.’