BBC My Family star Gabriel Thomson looks unrecognisable over 20 years on

My Family was one of the most iconic shows of the early 2000s with stars going onto work on huge projects including Harry Potter and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. The popular BBC show first aired in 2000 and continued until 2011 making the likes of Gabriel Thompson a household name.

The sitcom aired for 11 series and followed the bizarre antics of the Harper family including dad Ben (Robert Lindsay) and wife Susan (Zoë Wanamaker). They had three children: Nick (Kris Marshall), Janey (Daniela Denby-Ashe) and the youngest Micheal also known as Mikey (Gabriel Thomson).

Viewers would be left shocked if they caught a glimpse of Gabriel today as he is now 37 years old. The teen heartthrob ditched his goofy look and now channels a more sophisticated style.

In recent snaps, he can be seen with chiselled cheekbones and a short hairstyle. In his most recent Instagram, the actor was spotted hitting the waves along Brighton Beach, England.

Flashing his toned abs, he held his surfboard as he donned a pair of red swimming trunks. In the carousel of images which he shared with his Instagram followers, he revealed he had taken part in a lifeguard volunteer scheme.

In the sweet post, he said: "Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? What a ride!!

"So grateful to have had this chance to work with a group of such awesome, inspiring people and to go through what has been an immensely gratifying, challenging, and often humbling experience.

"Rolling around ALL the way out of my comfort zone in the waves between the red flags. Thanks to the team for being you, and I can't wait until next season. Base/Peace Out," he added alongside a string of emojis.

Gabriel pursued higher education and enrolled in university when the show came to a close.

It was reported that he studied philosophy at King's College in London with the ambition of becoming a human rights lawyer.

However, his IMDb profile reveals he did step back into his acting shoes in 2020 to star in a horror called A Little More Flesh.

Meanwhile, Gabriel's only other acting credit between that and My Family was in 2014 after starring in a drama named The Lost Choices.

Although same cannot be said of his co-stars who have gone on to appear in countless projects both on stage and in film.

The My Family leads continued stellar careers with Robert, 74, sharing the screen with Angelina Jolie in Maleficent 2 and Zoe, 75, starring in the first Harry Potter film.

Meanwhile, Kris, 50, went on to be the main detective in Death in Paradise from 2014-2017 and continued in the spin-off series, among other high-profile shows.