When Ryan Thomas accused his ex-girlfriend Tina O’Brien of smashing up his Range Rover with a baseball bat, it was assumed it was connected to the Coronation Street stars’ acrimonious split.

The infamous incident took place three years ago when, after Tina lost her temper with the actor following a row, the luxury car ended up with a wing mirror smashed off and scratches to its paintwork.

It looked like yet another occasion when tensions had boiled over between the pair, something which had been a regular occurrence ever since they went their separate ways in 2009. Things have been tumultuous, to say the least, between them ever since.

But I can now reveal that the motivation for the alleged incident was not any ill-feeling towards Ryan himself – but centres instead on their teenage daughter, Scarlett.

Sources close to the pair, who met on the set of the ITV soap, say their different parenting approaches was what prompted Tina’s rage.

And while for legal reasons I am not able to divulge exactly what happened to provoke the actress, it’s fair to say that while Tina wants her daughter to get a good education, Ryan and his brothers, Adam and Scott, were more keen to thrust her into the limelight.

Former Corrie co-stars Tina O’Brien and Ryan Thomas way back in 2007

The couple have teen daughter Scarlett, who has reportedly been thrust into the limelight by her father 

Indeed, today she is being described as a ‘nepo-baby’ actress – something which deeply upsets and angers Tina, who herself shot to fame in the early Nineties playing Sarah Louise Platt on Coronation Street.

And it was these very different views that had caused trouble for Scarlett, then 14, at her expensive private school.

One insider tells me: ‘Tina is a loving, sensible mum and was desperate for her daughter to have a normal upbringing and get an education – that was important to her. She is less flashy than Ryan and did not want Scarlett to rely on her or Ryan’s showbiz connections.

‘Tina has been so wary of Scarlett being described as a nepo baby and instead wanted to get her the right tools she would need and wanted her to find her own way.

‘But it must be difficult being a teenage girl and being put out there by a parent, it surely must encourage certain behaviours and there were some difficulties that began to really affect Scarlett – and Tina just saw red. She tried to get Ryan to see it, but he wouldn’t.’

Scarlett, meanwhile, is best-known for her role as schoolgirl Izzy Charles in BBC’s Waterloo Road. Izzy is the on-screen daughter of her real-life uncle, Adam Thomas, who portrays widow Donte Charles. Adam’s son Teddy – Scarlett’s cousin – also plays his offspring Tommy in the drama.

Tina, who recently split up with her husband Adam Croft with whom she has a son, has tried to give Scarlett a normal childhood despite this early taste of fame.

But Ryan, 40, has been filming his daughter and posting videos of her on social media since she was a child, as has his twin brothers, Adam and Love Island star Scott.

This, I’m told, has infuriated Tina.

Back in 2016 Ryan, who is now married to former The Only Way Is Essex star Lucy Mecklenburgh, was publicly lambasted for filming Scarlett – just eight at the time – singing in the backseat of his car while driving at the same time.

Road safety campaigners at the charity Brake blasted the former Corrie star for the careless act.

Scarlett often features in videos with her famous dad and uncles as well as in ‘Thomas Family’ videos with the entire clan, including step-mum Lucy, half-brother Roman, five, and half-sister Lilah, 22 months, Adam’s wife Caroline, and cousins Teddy, ten, Elsie-Rose, six.

And in January, Scarlett took part in a question-and-answer session with her father and his brothers. In a TikTok trend ‘Who knows our daughter and niece best’ Scarlett had to answer a series of questions such as what her favourite drink is, who her celebrity crush is and where she would most like to go on holiday. Her dad and uncles then had to try and guess the answers.

But it was when she was asked how many boys she had kissed that even Ryan cut the recording.

Ryan also said that Scarlett’s favourite drink was vodka and orange, despite his daughter only being 16 – something that caused he and his brothers to fall about laughing.

‘You can imagine how bloody furious Tina was about that one, can’t you,’ one pal said, of the warring pair.

‘Manchester is quite a small city and when you have a mum and dad who are famous it can cause problems for Scarlett. Tina wants her to remain as down to earth as possible while Ryan keeps pushing her out there. He is all about the connections you make and networking.

Tina is keen for Scarlett (pictured together) to have a good education

Tina and Ryan, who played Jason Grimshaw on Coronation Street, got together back in 2003 after she split from the actor who played Ryan’s on-screen brother, Bruno Langley 

Scarlett is well known in her own right for her role in Waterloo Road 

‘For Tina, it is hard when Scarlett is exposed to all of that. She sees Ryan and her uncles making a lot of money for not having to do all that much.’

Tina and Ryan, who played Jason Grimshaw on Coronation Street, got together back in 2003 after she split from the actor who played Ryan’s on-screen brother, Bruno Langley.

They went on to become the show’s ‘It’ couple and in 2008 Tina gave birth to Scarlett. But they split a year later.

Indeed, Tina has made no secret of her struggles bringing Scarlett up as she becomes one of the most sought-after young stars in the industry.

It can only have become more difficult since Scarlett joined social media. She has already amassed over 165,000 followers on TikTok, with a further 138,000 fans over on Instagram – with both accounts launched when she turned 16 in October.

When, two years ago, I wrote a story which revealed fury among Manchester-based actors over the fact that both Scarlett and Teddy had won roles on Waterloo Road, alongside Ryan’s brother Adam, Tina went on the attack and posted furious messages to me on Instagram.

While Tina is, of course, entitled to her view, she did also give a glimpse into how tough it is to mother a young star whose father – and his brothers – are thrusting her into the limelight, and the media scrutiny that comes alongside it.

‘I’d love to explain to you how hard it is to deal with the backlash,’ she wrote. ‘How as a parent I will try to do my best to protect my 14-year-old child from a stream of hurtful comments directed towards her.’

Tina went on to explain how her daughter had attended drama school since she was four years old and it was for that reason – not because of her famous parents – that she was winning roles. In fact, so passionate is Tina about teaching acting, she has her own drama school in Manchester, The Drama MOB, which discovered Adolescence star Owen Cooper.

A friend of the star told me: ‘Tina absolutely loves to teach youngsters to act, she sees it as a form of art, Ryan is more into being a celebrity.

‘Nobody knows where the feud will end.’