The Teacher star Kara Tointon has a very famous brother-in-law

Kara Tointon is a familiar face on our TV screens thanks to her glittering acting career. The 41-year-old found fame playing Dawn Swann in the BBC soap EastEnders before going on to land roles in The Sweeney and Mr Selfridge. She also won the eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2010 with her dance partner, Artem Chigvintsev.

Now, Kara is back on our screens in the second series of Channel 5’s latest drama, The Teacher. The Essex-born star leads the cast as devoted teacher Dani, whose illicit affair with a colleague has disastrous consequences. But did you know that Kara isn’t the only famous face in her family? The actress is related to a huge sitcom star. Keep reading to find out more…

Kara’s famous brother-in-law

Through her sister, Hannah Tointon, Kara is related to the actor Joe Thomas. 

Joe, 40, rose to fame in the late 2000s playing teenager Simon Cooper in E4’s hit sitcom, The Inbetweeners. Since then, he’s appeared in various comedy series, including Channel 4’s Fresh Meat, the BBC’s White Gold, and Chickens. 

© Anthony Harvey

Joe, who hails from Essex, has also competed on a number of celebrity game shows, including Taskmaster, Richard Osman’s House of Games and Would I Lie To You?.

Hannah and Joe have been together for over a decade, having met on the set of The Inbetweeners, in which Hannah played Joe’s on-screen girlfriend, Tara. 

© Brian J Ritchie

In October 2022, the couple announced the arrival of their baby girl. Kara opened up about her sister’s baby joy during an appearance on Ashley James’ Mum’s The Word podcast.

Explained that her sister and Joe thought they were having a boy during Hannah’s pregnancy and decided to keep their baby’s gender a surprise, Kara explained: “My sister’s just had her first. What’s funny is that on Joe’s side there’s only boys, even during the scan they accidentally said he at one point, so they’d gone along thinking it’s a boy,” explained the actress. 

© Dan Wooller/Shutterstock

“Everyone playing the shape game etc said she’s having a boy, so when they eventually had a girl… it was really brilliant, but it knocked them for six.

“So they hadn’t even decided on a girls’ name. They left it as a surprise.”