He is most famous for his role on popular ITV soap opera Coronation Street, where he took over the role of Nick Tilsley in 1997. The part had previously been played by actor Warren Jackson until 1996 when the character moved to Canada. He left the series in 1999, returning briefly in 2002 and for a longer spell from 2003 to 2004 after which he along with several cast members were sacked after a new producer came to the show. His most famous and controversial storyline was in 2003 when the character of Nick was involved in the series’ first gay kiss with Todd Grimshaw (played by Bruno Langley). Rickitt left Coronation Street in 1999 to start a music career. He signed a six-album deal, although he only released one album - Good Times - in 2000. Rickitt’s first single, I Breathe Again, reached number five in the UK Top Ten, but follow up singles Everything My Heart Desires, and Best Thing only entered the Top Twenty and Top Thirty respectively. The failure of the album (which peaked at No. 41 in the chart) and Rickitt’s disillusionment with the direction of his career led him to abandon pop music. However in 2003, he played Mark Cohen in the musical Rent. Rickitt actively courted gay audiences during this period, appearing regularly at gay venues and the BBC series Gaytime TV as well as children’s television and mainstream pop festivals and television series. Prior to his acting career, Rickitt had briefly been a child model. He subsequently has modelled for UK magazines such as Attitude and Cosmopolitan. He is known especially in the tabloid press for having an extremely well-defined “six-pack”. This, combined with his blond hair and good looks, has led to the accusation that he is a himbo. Nonetheless, Rickitt turned down an opportunity to study law at Cambridge University in favour of continuing his modelling and acting career. In October 2005, Rickitt was approved as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the UK Conservative Party. As part of this attempt to reinvent himself, in February 2006 he appeared on the political debate show Question Time, as the non-partisan guest. In May 2006, he was one of 100 would-be MPs chosen for the Conservative party ‘A-list’. The following month he appeared on Sunday AM with Andrew Marr. He attends major party functions and local party functions in the hope of being selected as well as developing a political blog on his website. However, a newspaper article alleged was not actually a member of the Conservative Party, and had only decided to support them because of his dislike of Prime Minister Tony Blair. Rickitt however refuted the claims and confirmed that he was a member. He also, along with David Cameron, provoked the anger of Sir Nicholas Winterton when it was revealed that Rickitt was tipped to stand for the safe Conservative seat of Macclesfield which Winterton had represented for nearly thirty years. Winterton was outraged, stating that he had no intention of standing down from this seat: “I wish Adam luck, but there are no vacancies here.” Rickitt also took part in the Channel Four reality show The Games during March 2006, although he only had two weeks’ training, compared to the other contestants’ twelve. He had replaced the scheduled contestant, electronic musician Goldie, had to pull out during an accident during training for the water ski jump, in which he fractured his femur. Rickitt himself sustained two black eyes after over-rotating off the diving board. He finished last in the contest. In December 2006 he appeared in his first pantomime, Cinderella, in the role of Prince Charming. In January 2007 it was announced that Rickitt would appear on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street in a guest role, although as of his first appearance in March 2007, he was credited as a core cast member, and he later stated he would be on the show for at least six months. |
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