Coronation Street star rejects fame as he turns down acting roles for much different job

Former Coronation Street star Adam Rickitt has revealed that he’s turned down acting roles due to the success of his Cheshire gin bar.

The actor, 46, has run Dexter & Jones in Knutsford with his Good Morning Britain reporter wife Katy for the last five years.

Prior to that he was a regular in Hollyoaks – playing Kyle Kelly – but is best known for being the second Nick Tilsley on the cobbles between 1997 and 2004.

In a bizarre soap crossover, Christopher Quinten, famed for playing Nick’s dad Brian Tilsley in Corrie, made a guest appearance as Kyle’s dad in Hollyoaks.

He also had a brief pop career, releasing an album in 1999 and reaching No. 5 in the UK singles chart with I Breathe Again. After failing to get to the top of the list, he was dropped from record label Polydor.

Despite still being open to an acting return, Adam has admitted that his agent is dismayed when he turns down auditions.

‘I love acting. I’m always going to act but I was sick of doing rubbish jobs I didn’t want to do,’ he told Knutsford Guardian.

‘It was the same thing for Katy. She loved doing the news but she didn’t like how tired it made her when she was doing it 24/7.

‘So our shared dream was to take over Dexter & Jones and to find that balance.’

The couple had to briefly scale down operations at the bar during the Coronavirus pandemic, though was open for takeaway orders. They later knocked through into the neighbouring salon, doubling the size of the venue.

Katy said that balancing two professions can be somewhat difficult: ‘Dexters is more my home now than my house. The admin, finances, writing quizzes and everything else can be hard work on top of the getting up at the crack of dawn on GMB days.

‘Sometimes I even do both jobs in one day!’