diff --git a/tests/tools/test_tts_pythonpath_fallback.py b/tests/tools/test_tts_pythonpath_fallback.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..23a45fbb5fa0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/test_tts_pythonpath_fallback.py
@@ -0,0 +1,103 @@
+"""Regression tests for #53259.
+
+When TTS packages (edge-tts, elevenlabs, mistralai) installed outside the
+venv but importable on sys.path (e.g. via PYTHONPATH, Docker layered
+filesystems), the lazy-import helpers must fall through to the raw import
+instead of re-raising lazy_deps.ensure() failures as ImportError.
+
+Uses sys.modules fixtures so builtins.__import__ stays intact — patching
+__import__ replaces the helper's own ``from tools.lazy_deps import ...``
+and defeats the purpose of the test.
+"""
+
+import sys
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+import pytest
+
+from tools.lazy_deps import FeatureUnavailable
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def _clean_tts_modules():
+    """Remove TTS packages from sys.modules so each test starts fresh."""
+    removed = {}
+    for name in ("edge_tts", "elevenlabs", "elevenlabs.client",
+                 "mistralai", "mistralai.client"):
+        if name in sys.modules:
+            removed[name] = sys.modules.pop(name)
+    yield
+    for name in ("edge_tts", "elevenlabs", "elevenlabs.client",
+                 "mistralai", "mistralai.client"):
+        sys.modules.pop(name, None)
+    sys.modules.update(removed)
+
+
+class TestEdgeTtsPythonpathFallback:
+    def test_falls_through_on_lazy_deps_failure(self):
+        """FeatureUnavailable from ensure() must not prevent raw import."""
+        mock_edge_tts = MagicMock()
+        with patch.dict(sys.modules, {"edge_tts": mock_edge_tts}), \
+             patch("tools.lazy_deps.ensure",
+                   side_effect=FeatureUnavailable("tts.edge", (), "test")):
+            from tools.tts_tool import _import_edge_tts
+            result = _import_edge_tts()
+        assert result is mock_edge_tts
+
+    def test_raises_when_package_truly_missing(self):
+        """When the package is truly absent, ImportError must propagate."""
+        with patch("tools.lazy_deps.ensure"), \
+             patch.dict(sys.modules, {"edge_tts": None}):
+            from tools.tts_tool import _import_edge_tts
+            with pytest.raises(ImportError):
+                _import_edge_tts()
+
+
+class TestElevenLabsPythonpathFallback:
+    def test_falls_through_on_lazy_deps_failure(self):
+        """FeatureUnavailable from ensure() must not prevent raw import."""
+        mock_cls = MagicMock()
+        mock_client_pkg = MagicMock()
+        mock_client_pkg.ElevenLabs = mock_cls
+        with patch.dict(sys.modules, {
+            "elevenlabs": mock_client_pkg,
+            "elevenlabs.client": mock_client_pkg,
+        }), patch("tools.lazy_deps.ensure",
+                  side_effect=FeatureUnavailable("tts.elevenlabs", (), "test")):
+            from tools.tts_tool import _import_elevenlabs
+            result = _import_elevenlabs()
+        assert result is mock_cls
+
+    def test_raises_when_package_truly_missing(self):
+        """When the package is truly absent, ImportError must propagate."""
+        with patch("tools.lazy_deps.ensure"), \
+             patch.dict(sys.modules, {"elevenlabs": None,
+                                      "elevenlabs.client": None}):
+            from tools.tts_tool import _import_elevenlabs
+            with pytest.raises(ImportError):
+                _import_elevenlabs()
+
+
+class TestMistralPythonpathFallback:
+    def test_falls_through_on_lazy_deps_failure(self):
+        """FeatureUnavailable from ensure() must not prevent raw import."""
+        mock_cls = MagicMock()
+        mock_mistralai = MagicMock()
+        mock_mistralai.Mistral = mock_cls
+        with patch.dict(sys.modules, {
+            "mistralai": mock_mistralai,
+            "mistralai.client": mock_mistralai,
+        }), patch("tools.lazy_deps.ensure",
+                  side_effect=FeatureUnavailable("tts.mistral", (), "test")):
+            from tools.tts_tool import _import_mistral_client
+            result = _import_mistral_client()
+        assert result is mock_cls
+
+    def test_raises_when_package_truly_missing(self):
+        """When the package is truly absent, ImportError must propagate."""
+        with patch("tools.lazy_deps.ensure"), \
+             patch.dict(sys.modules, {"mistralai": None,
+                                      "mistralai.client": None}):
+            from tools.tts_tool import _import_mistral_client
+            with pytest.raises(ImportError):
+                _import_mistral_client()
diff --git a/tools/transcription_tools.py b/tools/transcription_tools.py
index 50a2ee89085f..2e155dd83cae 100644
--- a/tools/transcription_tools.py
+++ b/tools/transcription_tools.py
@@ -1596,7 +1596,7 @@ def _transcribe_mistral(file_path: str, model_name: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         try:
             from tools.lazy_deps import ensure as _lazy_ensure
             _lazy_ensure("stt.mistral", prompt=False)
-        except ImportError:
+        except Exception:
             pass
         from mistralai.client import Mistral
 
diff --git a/tools/tts_tool.py b/tools/tts_tool.py
index a7fddab7b075..f0973c75dd45 100644
--- a/tools/tts_tool.py
+++ b/tools/tts_tool.py
@@ -107,8 +107,8 @@ def _import_edge_tts():
         _lazy_ensure("tts.edge", prompt=False)
     except ImportError:
         pass
-    except Exception as e:
-        raise ImportError(str(e))
+    except Exception:
+        pass
     import edge_tts
     return edge_tts
 
@@ -128,8 +128,8 @@ def _import_elevenlabs():
         # lazy_deps module itself missing — fall through to the raw import
         # so older code paths still get a clean ImportError.
         pass
-    except Exception as e:  # FeatureUnavailable or any unexpected error
-        raise ImportError(str(e))
+    except Exception:
+        pass
     from elevenlabs.client import ElevenLabs
     return ElevenLabs
 
@@ -151,8 +151,8 @@ def _import_mistral_client():
         ensure("tts.mistral", prompt=False)
     except ImportError:
         pass
-    except Exception as e:  # FeatureUnavailable or any unexpected error
-        raise ImportError(str(e))
+    except Exception:
+        pass
     from mistralai.client import Mistral
     return Mistral