ITV Share By Jade Brown Aug 26 2025 By Jade Brown Aug 26 2025 6 things that have happened to Arthur Thomas as he turns 18 From being swapped at birth to coming out Arthur Thomas Laurel Thomas Share By Jade Brown Aug 26 2025 By Jade Brown Aug 26 2025 Arthur Thomas returned to Emmerdale in Tuesday’s episode (August 26), five months after last appearing on screen. The teenager’s absence for most of this year has mainly gone without explanation, but the character has now appeared again. Arthur Thomas was seen celebrating his 18th birthday, with his family and friends attempting to send him well wishes and embarrass him in equal measure. As Arthur reaches the big milestone, we take a look at some of the things that have happened to him in his 18 years in Emmerdale. Laurel was reunited with Arthur after he was swapped at birth (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock) Swapped at birth The drama started for Arthur immediately as he was involved in a baby swap story. Melanie Doland and Laurel Thomas met in hospital in August 2007, with their baby boys both born on the same day. article continues below Read all the latest spoilers Laurel and her husband Ashley named their son Daniel, while Melanie and Greg named their son Arthur. Tragically in February 2008, Daniel died of cot death. The post-mortem revealed that Daniel could not have been Laurel and Ashley’s son and therefore their baby had been switched at birth. Laurel’s mum Hillary became suspicious of the Dolands, as they’d been the only other couple having a baby boy at the same time. Melanie attempted to flee with baby Arthur, but when Ashley filed for custody, she was forced to return for the DNA test, which revealed Laurel and Ashley to be Arthur’s biological parents. Laurel and Ashley were granted custody, with the Dolands soon moving away. Initially, Laurel struggled to bond with Arthur but she soon came to see him as her son. Arthur was devastated when his dad Ashley died (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock) Dad Ashley passes away In 2016, Arthur and his sister Gabby discovered that their dad Ashley had dementia. With Laurel having just given birth to Dotty, she struggled to cope and decided to move Ashley into full-time care. Arthur struggled to cope with this development, leading to Laurel taking both him and Gabby out of school on compassionate grounds. In April 2017, Ashley’s condition worsened and he was diagnosed with pneumonia. As he was no longer responding to the medication, it was suggested the family should start saying their goodbyes. Ashley returned home for his final few days, with his death being aired in an emotional episode, which saw Laurel reading to him from a memory book. At his funeral, a heartbroken Arthur read a poem, before running off due to not being able to cope with life without his beloved father. Emma lied to Arthur about his mum being ill (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock) Manipulated by Emma Barton Despite being a child, Arthur did not escape the mind games of villain Emma Barton. Back in 2017, Emma was responsible for the devastating road pile-up that injured many and caused the death of her husband James. Arthur’s dad Ashley was one of the many villagers caught up in the crash and he had memories of Emma, but she used his dementia against him and convinced him he was just confused. Ashley, however, had been filming the whole thing – a clip Arthur later saw. When Emma discovered that Arthur knew her secret, she begun a campaign against him. She destroyed home videos of his beloved dad Ashley (who’d by now passed away). She then convinced Arthur that his mum was seriously ill so he shouldn’t stress her out with any of this. Arthur was jealous of the attention Archie was getting (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock) Arthur the bully In June 2019, Laurel started dating Jai Sharma. Arthur became jealous of Jai’s son Archie and the attention his mum gave him. Arthur started to bully Archie. This soon turned violent, with Arthur leaving Archie with bruises. When the bruises were discovered by Laurel and Jai, Arthur told them Jimmy King was responsible and made Archie go along with this accusation. Jimmy was then accused of child abuse. After Sandy died, Arthur finally confessed what he’d been doing to Laurel, as he believed Sandy’s death was his punishment. Laurel didn’t immediately tell Jai the truth. But when Archie was found on the ground, she blurted it out as she feared her son was doing it again. Arthur insisted it wasn’t his fault this time, but nobody believed him. And in a twist, Archie then threatened Arthur – telling him, he could lie some more and get Arthur sent away. It took a while for Arthur to admit he was gay (Credit: ITV/Shutterstock) Arthur admits he is gay More recently, Arthur’s biggest storyline has been one involving his sexuality. After being teased by Noah and Jimmy about April’s crush, Arthur broke down in tears at his father’s grave. Close family friend Nicola noticed Arthur’s behaviour and encouraged him to open up. Arthur did this and emotionally told her he was gay. Arthur was pleased when his friends April, Cathy and Heath were supportive of his news. He then made the decision to come out to his mother. However, he needn’t have been worried as Laurel was supportive of her son and to his relief , she ensured him that his dad would have loved him no matter what and would not have been against his sexuality. Arthur’s lie was exposed (Credit: ITV) Arthur’s relationship with Marshall and lie about John At a party, schoolfriend Marshall told Arthur he wanted to go on a date with him – but it appeared that Marshall just asked him out for a bet. However, it was soon revealed that Marshall was struggling with his sexuality. He was also being emotionally and physically abused by his father, who told him being gay was sick and wrong. Marshall was saved from his father’s abuse and he and Arthur started dating. But this ended when Marshall moved away to live with his aunt. Arthur later turned his attention to new guy John Sugden. Wanting to prove his maturity, Arthur flirted with John and he later lied to April that the pair had slept together. Arthur was mortified when Laurel found out and accused John of taking advantage of her young son! What will Arthur get up to now he’s officially an adult? Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns Share Good to Know Share By Jade Brown Aug 26 2025 By Jade Brown Aug 26 2025
