Ryan Thomas has an emotional reunion with a pigeon he believes to be the reincarnation of a loved one and consults Psychic Sally for advice on connecting with the bird
13:55, 03 Sep 2025Updated 14:55, 03 Sep 2025
Ryan Thomas took to Instagram to share his newfound connection with a carrier pigeon and was seen breaking down as he cradled the bird – which he believes is the reincarnated spirit of his late father, Dougie James.
The actor lost his father in 2020, but Ryan believes Dougie may have returned, as the same pigeon has visited him over the past few days.
On Tuesday night (2 September), Ryan, 41, hopped on to Instagram to explain his beliefs. The Coronation Street star shared how the same bird had visited them several times, and tried to get in the house when he wasn’t home.
Ryan thinks his dad has come back as a bird
“You are not going to believe this,” he said. “I’ve gone out with the kids all day today. Lucy’s [Mecklenburgh] been at home. She calls me at 5 o’clock and she says, ‘I could hear tap tap tap tap tap at the back window.’ I said no, please tell me you’re lying.
“And she sends me a video of my dad. My dad came back. He was trying to fly into the windows, try and get in.”
Ryan went on to share a picture he took of Dougie/the pigeon and set the snap to one of his dad’s songs, Still, and captioned the post: “Don’t know what’s going on here but I’m so connected to him.” He went on to joke that the bird’s markings looked very similar to his dad’s moustache.
The pigeon does have similar markings to Dougie’s facial hair
Later, he was seen calling Psychic Sally Morgan for advice. When asked if the pigeon could be Dougie, she responded with a strong yes.
Lucy Mecklenburgh, Ryan’s fiancée, also shared her thoughts on Instagram and explained how the bird’s return was even more surprising as they’d driven five hours from their Essex home to return the pigeon to its owner in Manchester just the day before.
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“We spent five hours in a car with a pigeon that when we arrived flew away anyway!”, she said. “We let him out the cage and then he flew away but now he’s back.”
Ryan called Psychic Sally for help
She also hinted that she wasn’t completely happy with the turn of events, especially if the bird stayed. “I just don’t see myself as someone with a pigeon enclosure in my garden.”
Ryan, meanwhile, was overjoyed by his father’s return and broke down whilst holding him.
But his relationship with Dougie hasn’t always been so touching. The late musician was absent for most of Ryan’s childhood, splitting from his mother shortly after the birth of Ryan’s brothers, Emmerdale star Adam Thomas and former Love Islander Scott Thomas.
Ryan and his brothers filmed a TV series with their dad before he died
The brothers’ feelings about their father’s absence was explored in their show Mancs In Mumbai, where the family travelled to India to explore their roots. Adam explained how important the show was for them: “My dad left us for years when we were younger and then he came back into our lives and we never really talked about it.
“There were a lot of unanswered questions, which we touched on and I think we needed to. It got quite emotional.”
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