Ryan Thomas has revealed that his 14-month-old son Roman helped him cope with the death of his beloved father and the loss of a close friend to suicide during lockdown.
Ryan, 36 – who welcomed Roman in March 2020 with his fiancée Lucy Mecklenburgh – explained: ‘Bringing a newborn into the world and creating a new family for Roman, that’s been my drive this year, giving him the best start in life.
The former Coronation Street star – who will next week walk the 262 mile journey from London to Manchester to raise money for mental health charity CALM – added: ‘That’s been a good distraction for me.’
Sweet: Ryan Thomas, 36, has revealed that his 14-month-old son Roman has helped him cope with the death of his beloved father and the loss of a close friend to suicide during lockdown
Speaking to The Sun, Ryan was also quick to gush about wife-to-be Lucy, 29, adding: ‘I couldn’t have done this without Lucy. She’s been a great role model as a mother and has really set the way for our family’s foundation just to get through each day.’
Commenting that many people have found life under lockdown challenging, Ryan – whose city-to-city walk was recently thrown into jeopardy when he sprained his ankle after tripping over a kettlebell at the gym – noted that he hopes to be stronger, fitter and healthier post COVID.
He told the paper he hopes that everything in his life will simply fall into place.
Ryan’s father Dougie passed away in November aged 72.
Family: Ryan – who welcomed Roman in March 2020 with Lucy Mecklenburgh – explained: ‘Bringing a newborn into the world and creating a new family for Roman, that’s been my drive’
70s music legend Dougie was the lead singer of Dougie James And The Soul Train, and at the height of his band’s fame Dougie toured with The Jackson Five.
His death was announced by BBC Manchester’s Mike Shaft on air.
Mike said at the time: ‘He played all over the north west, in those days when they were playing places like Golden Garter they’d have bands on, an American band and then Dougie James.
‘Wonderful guy, always a smile on his face. Always a happy story. Very sad news.’
Earlier in May Ryan revealed he lost someone close to him to suicide in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking candidly about his friend – who took his own life during lockdown – Ryan said: ‘It really shook everyone. You’d never have known he was suffering.’
The former Coronation Street star has since started a Whatsapp group with his male friends so they can check up on each other and will next week walk the 262-mile journey from London to Manchester to raise money for a mental health charity.
Speaking about his friend’s death, Ryan told The Mirror: ‘The night before he was on Instagram saying he was out for dinner. He was the same age as me.’
Doting father: 70s music legend Dougie was the lead singer of Dougie James And The Soul Train (pictured: Dougie with his sons Ryan, Adam and Scott)
Vowing to ‘let people know help is out there’ as he teams up with suicide prevention charity CALM for his city-to-city trek, the doting father added: ‘If I can save even one life, I’ll have done a great job.’
Ryan hopes to raise £25,000 to support mental health charities.
Ryan dedicated an Instagram post to his upcoming walk in March, writing in part: ‘I’ve been waiting a long time to announce this news.
Injury: Ryan’s city-to-city walk was recently thrown into jeopardy when he sprained his ankle after tripping over a kettlebell at the gym this month
‘On Monday 10th May, the first day of Mental Health Awareness Week, I will be starting a long, hard but special fundraising mission!
‘I will be walking 10 marathons in 10 days from London to Manchester, raising money for mental health & suicide prevention charity @CALMZone.
‘Starting from Buckingham Palace on I will finish at Manchester Cathedral on Thursday 20th May. The walking distance will be 262 miles & there will be 9 overnight stops.
‘I am lucky enough to have a big following & as someone in the public eye I want to use it for positive change.
‘The stats are shocking and we need to do something about it – the stats on men in particular are shocking.
‘If one life is saved by me doing this challenge, if someone checks on their friend, or uses CALM for advice & help – then it’s been worth it.’
For confidental support call The Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit www.samaritans.org.
Tragic: Ryan revealed in May that he lost someone close to him to suicide in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic