As former Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher not only celebrated his birthday, but the start of his new BBC show too, pal Ryan Thomas was on hand to mark the big day in the best way possible on Monday

Ryan Thomas has delighted soap fans with a saucy throwback snap.

The former Coronation Street star wished pal Kelvin Fletcher a happy birthday on Monday – treating his followers to a vintage topless snap in the process.

Hours before Kelvin’s new farming show launched on BBC One, Ryan, 37, took to Instagram to post an old snap from their topless photoshoot days as soap stars.

Oiled up and shirtless, the two actors – who appeared on rival soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street – looked every inch the TV heartthrobs back in the day.

“What a way to celebrate your birthday today with your first ep of #kelvinsbigfarmingadventure on BBC 1 at 830 tonight,” the Jason Grimshaw actor captioned his cheeky tribute to his pal.

“Happy birthday @kelvin_fletcher #oldonesarethebestones.”

Birthday boy Kelvin – who played Andy Sugden on Emmerdale until 2016 – approved of Ryan’s trip down memory lane, commenting: “Hahahaha those were the days [red love heart emoji] love you lad.”

Fans loved it too, with one even commenting: “My teenage crushes right there!!”

The steamy snap is thanks to Kelvin, 38, and Ryan’s starring role on the ITV soap hunks calendar from 2006, which featured a host of Emmerdale and Corrie heartthrobs including Ben Freeman, Rupert Hill and Sam Robertson.

The two former soap stars have remained good friends over the years ( 
Image:
Instagram)

The reality TV stars often publicly support each other’s projects ( 
Image:
Instagram)
It’s not the first time the Celebrity Big Brother winner has supported Kelvin’s endeavours via the form of retro snaps from their soap star days.

Back in 2019, Ryan shared the exact same snap on Instagram as his mate battled it out to become the Strictly Come Dancing champion that year.

“2006 we did this calendar, we were kids & now we have kids of our own, crazy!!!” Ryan explained in the caption the first time he ever shared the throwback snap.

Ryan as Jason Grimshaw, alongside his on-screen family on Coronation Street in 2000
“Lol We never no what direction works going to take us mate but I love watching your determination to always try your best wether [sic] it be acting, racing cars and now dancing!!!”

The latest project Kelvin has turned his talents to is agriculture – with Kelvin’s Big Farming Adventure premiering on BBC One on Monday night.

The new documentary follows the former Strictly champion and his family as they move onto a 120-acre former working farm near the Peak District.

Kelvin’s new show kicked off on Monday nightDon’t Miss
The six-part series will show Kelvin learning how to run a farm, with the help of next-door neighbour, Gilly, who has experience in the industry.

Ahead of the first episode airing on Monday night, Kelvin and wife Liz announced the happy news that they’re expecting twins.

They shared news of the pregnancy on BBC Breakfast as they promoted their new show.