Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox person
Adam Peter Rickitt (born 29 May 1978) is an English actor and singer. He portrayed the part of Nick Tilsley on the British soap opera Coronation Street from 1997 to 1999, and again from 2002 to 2004. He later joined the New Zealand soap Shortland Street for a three-year stint between 2007 and 2010. From 2017 to 2020, he appeared as Kyle Kelly on Channel 4's Hollyoaks. His other credits include the BBC's Doctors (2001; 2016; 2023).
Rickitt had a musical career, both as a solo artist and as a member of 5th Story, a supergroup formed for the ITV reality series The Big Reunion. Alone, he released Good Times (1999) through Polydor Records, an album that spawned the UK Top 25 singles "I Breathe Again", "Everything My Heart Desires", and "The Best Thing". He attempted to embark on a political career within the Conservative Party in 2005, but has since denounced the party's views.Template:Citation needed<ref name="Tory_Guardian" />
Early lifeEdit
Rickitt was born in Crewe, the youngest of four brothers who grew up in Cuddington, Eddisbury.<ref name="Facts" /> His father was the co-owner of an estate agency. Rickitt was educated at Sedbergh School, a boarding school in Cumbria.<ref>The Independent (Adam Rickitt - True Blue Hunk) Template:Webarchive</ref> Rickitt has spoken publicly about suffering from bulimia in his teenage years and about how male sufferers have largely been neglected.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
CareerEdit
1997–2004: Coronation Street and music careerEdit
Prior to his acting career, Rickitt was briefly a child model. He subsequently modelled for magazines including Attitude and Cosmopolitan. Rickitt auditioned for the ITV soap opera Coronation Street in 1997. He did it as a joke, having never watched an episode, and his agent said that he would not get it.<ref name="Facts" /> However, he was cast in the role of Nick Tilsley and remained on the soap until 1999, returning briefly in 2002 and for a longer spell from 2003 to 2004. His most famous and controversial storyline was in 2003, when his character was involved in the series' first gay kiss with Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley).<ref name="Facts">Template:Cite news</ref>
Rickitt left Coronation Street in 1999 to start a music career. He signed a six-album deal with Polydor Records, although he only released one album - Good Times (1999). Rickitt's first single, "I Breathe Again", reached number five in the UK and was certified silver by BPI. The album peaked at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart.<ref>Roach, Martin. The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums (Template:ISBN) Virgin Books (2009)</ref> Rickitt was then dropped.<ref name="Facts" />
Rickitt starred as Mark Cohen in the 2001 UK tour of Rent, before moving to London's West End.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He made a return to the London stage to star in Bill Kenwright's production of Office Games, followed by a new play, Final Judgement, and also appeared in Nick Moran's play Telstar on UK tour in 2005.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2005–2010: Political ventures and Shortland StreetEdit
In October 2005, Rickitt was approved as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party.<ref>Template:Usurped</ref> He was asked into politics as a way of getting young people engaged in voting and admitted that he had no real intentions of progressing far.<ref name="Facts" /> In February 2006, he appeared on the political debate show Question Time<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> as the non-partisan guest.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In May 2006, he was one of 100 would-be MPs chosen for the Conservative party A-list.<ref>Tory A-lister urges well-off to avoid burdening NHSTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore Times Online, 21 May 2006</ref> The following month, he appeared on Sunday AM with Andrew Marr.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He attended national and local Conservative party functions in the hope of being selected as a candidate.<ref name="Tory_Guardian">Template:Cite news</ref>
Alongside David Cameron, he also provoked the anger of Sir Nicholas Winterton when it was revealed that Rickitt was being tipped to stand for the safe Conservative seat of Macclesfield, which the outraged Winterton had represented for over thirty years. Winterton responded that he had no intention of standing down from this seat: "I wish Adam luck, but there are no vacancies here."<ref name=TBH/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rickitt was unsuccessful in progressing his political career.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> According to his website, in July 2007, he decided to continue his acting career in New Zealand rather than seek selection as a candidate.<ref>Template:Usurped July 2007 </ref>
In March 2006, he took part in the Channel 4 reality series The Games. He took part as a replacement, after the scheduled contestant, Goldie, had to pull out, following an accident. Rickitt himself sustained two black eyes after over-rotating off the diving board.<ref>Fatter, older, slower ... Melbourne a distant second to Games for a laughTemplate:Dead linkTemplate:Cbignore Times Online, 25 March 2006</ref> In December 2006, Rickitt appeared in his first pantomime, Cinderella, in the role of Prince Charming at the Norwich Theatre Royal.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Rickitt joined the cast of the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street in early 2007, portraying the role of Kieran Mitchell, with his first appearance being shown on 16 March 2007. Rickitt was given the opportunity to have creative freedom with the character since his storylines had not been fully formed.<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref> The character was written out of the series in 2010, with Rickitt's final episode broadcast on 2 August 2010. His death episode saw high ratings for the soap.<ref name=say>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He had said that he preferred his role on Shortland Street to working on Coronation Street.<ref>NZ HeraldTemplate:Dead link</ref>
He returned to the political scene in October 2010 as a guest reporter for the ITV breakfast television programme Daybreak covering the Conservative Party Conference from Birmingham, and hosted a conference gay party.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> However, in 2014, Rickitt agreed with a comment that the world would be a better place without the Conservative Party.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>Template:Verification failed
2014–present: Doctors and HollyoaksEdit
In 2014, he became part of the supergroup 5th Story, who took part in the second series of The Big Reunion, alongside Kenzie from Blazin' Squad, Dane Bowers from Another Level, Kavana and Gareth Gates.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Rickitt returned to the United Kingdom to continue his acting career, and in 2016, he made a guest appearance in an episode of the BBC medical soap opera Doctors.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
He was then cast in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks as regular character Kyle Kelly. He left the soap in June 2020 when his character took his own life.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In June 2023, it was announced that Rickitt would be returning to Doctors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His episode aired in December 2023, where he portrayed Michael Harvey.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Personal lifeEdit
In 1999, at a performance at The Prince's Trust Party in the Park, a member of the audience sprayed gas onto the stage when Rickitt was performing. Rickitt fainted after inhaling the substance and was taken to hospital.<ref name=TBH>Template:Cite news</ref> He has an autoimmune disorder called ankylosing spondylitis, which made Rickitt infertile, with a sperm count of two.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The disease causes the spine's vertebrae to fuse together if they remain still for too long, so Rickitt exercises for two hours daily.<ref name="Facts" />
Rickitt married Good Morning Britain presenter Katy Fawcett in 2014.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2019, the couple took over an artisan bottle shop called Dexter and Jones in the Cheshire town of Knutsford.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Rickitt worked for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as a capital appeals manager.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He left in 2013 to begin working with the cancer charity Help Harry Help Others, and Chief Executive of the mental health foundation, the Caerus Partnership.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Legal issuesEdit
On 21 September 2007, Rickitt was arrested and charged with shoplifting a block of cheese, a bottle of HP sauce and a jar of coffee beans from an Auckland supermarket. During an interview with Herald on Sunday he claimed that it was an honest mistake<ref name="NZ_Herald_10465366">Template:Cite news</ref> though later claimed that he was drunk at the time of the incident.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In August 2020, Rickitt drove 600 m whilst under the influence of alcohol to pick up a takeaway.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
FilmographyEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–1999, 2002–2004 | Coronation Street | Nick Tilsley | Regular role |
| 2001 | Doctors | James Neville | Episode: "Sun God" |
| 2005 | Judge John Deed | Roy Storidge | Episode: "Popular Appeal" |
| 2007–2010 | Shortland Street | Kieran Mitchell | Regular role |
| 2010 | Whatever Happened to Pete Blaggit? | Clive | Film |
| 2014 | The Big Reunion | Himself | Contestant |
| 2016 | Doctors | Logan Flynn | Episode: "Dracula's Choice" |
| 2017–2020 | Hollyoaks | Kyle Kelly | Regular role |
| 2020 | Hollyoaks Later | 2020 special | |
| 2023 | Doctors | Michael Harvey | Guest role |
DiscographyEdit
Studio albumsEdit
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref name="uk"/> |
SCO <ref>Peak chart positions for featured albums on the Scottish Chart:
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |
| Good Times | 41 | 68 | |
SinglesEdit
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK <ref name="uk">UK chart peaks:
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
IRE <ref name="ire">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
SCO <ref>Peak chart positions for featured singles on the Scottish Chart:
|
CitationClass=web
}}
|
CitationClass=web
}}
|
CitationClass=web
}}</ref> | |||||||
| 1999 | "I Breathe Again" | 5 | 16 | 6 |
|
Good Times | ||||||||
| "Everything My Heart Desires" | 15 | — | 16 | |||||||||||
| 2000 | "The Best Thing" | 25 | — | 22 | ||||||||||
| 2010 | "Tonight" | — | — | — | Non-album single | |||||||||
| "—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Awards and nominationsEdit
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Template:Abbr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | National Television Awards | Most Popular Newcomer | Coronation Street | Template:Nom | <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
| 1999 | British Soap Awards | Sexiest Male | Coronation Street | Template:Nom | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> | |
| 2000 | BRIT Awards | British Pop Newcomer | Himself | Template:Nom | <ref>Template:Cite news</ref> |
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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