BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Adam Thomas wants to 'inspire' others after diagnosis as he says 'I have woken up in pain every day since January'
05.11.2023 - 10:19
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Adam Thomas has told how he wants to 'inspire' others as he takes part in Strictly Come Dancing after being diagnosed with a painful hidden condition. The Waterloo Road actor has been competing in the BBC One dance contest alongside professional dance partner Luba Mushtuk.
But while he continues to smile when in the ballroom, he is hiding the reality of living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Earlier this year, Adam, who plays Donte Charles in the BBC One school drama, shared his goal to get back into shape after a transformation last year. The 35-year-old then took to social media just months ago to share how setbacks had gotten in the way but he was determined to make a change.
However, it wasn't until September, after he was revealed in Strictly's 2023 line-up, that Adam shared the problem that he found was holding him back. The dad-of-two spoke out and shared that he has been diagnosed with RA, an autoimmune and inflammatory disease which means that your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake, causing inflammation (painful swelling) in the affected parts of the body.
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Adam has since been open and honest about his struggle and speaking exclusively to the Manchester Evening News, the former Emmerdale star spoke about how he's managing the condition with the gruelling training for the show and his busy work schedule.
"It's going alright, it is what it is," he told us. "I've struggled with arthritis... Well, I was only diagnosed two months ago now but I've been dealing with it since January. Pretty much every