For a certain generation of music fans, Adam Rickett is the 90s one-hit wonder who made a splash for an unlikely reason.
While later becoming a favourite on the Corrie cobbles and in the Hollyoaks hotspots, the star made a short-lived attempt to launch a music career with his song Breathe Again in 1999.
And although the song only reached number five in the charts, it earned an army of fans for its memorable music video, which saw Adam, 47, strip naked while being examined by doctors in a glass box.
It seems Adam himself can’t escape his famous appearance in the video, as was evident in a shirtless snap he shared on Instagram this week.
The model-turned-actor showed off his ripped physique while sharing a glimpse at his new life in Sicily with his wife Katy, who he married in 2014.
Adam was best known for his acting work, but in recent years he and Katy have stepped away from the spotlight, running a craft beer and artisan gin bar called Dexter and Jones in their town of Knutsford
Former 90s pop star and soap favourite Adam Rickitt offered fans a cheeky throwback to his iconic Breathe Again music video, in a shirtless Instagram snap this week
Despite beginning his career as a child model, Adam forayed into soaps when he auditioned for the role of Nick Tilsey on Coronation Street (pictured in 2004)
Despite starting his career as a child model, Adam auditioned for the role of Nick Tilsey on Coronation Street back in 1997, admitting at the time he applied for the job as a joke.
Regardless Adam got the part, and he starred on Corrie for two years before leaving the soap to pursue an music career.
During his soap break, Adam released his album Good Times as part of a six-album record deal.
His first single, I Breathe Again, reached number five in the UK, and spawned the iconic 1999 music video where he appeared nude in a glass box while being inspected by doctors.
However, the album only managed to peak at number 41, and Adam was promptly dropped from his label.
What followed was a brief foray into politics, with the star approved as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party in 2005, despite admitting he only entered the race as part of a campaign to get more young people involved.
He failed to make a list of 20 candidates for the Folkestone and Hythe seat being vacated by Michael Howard, and decided to call his political career a day.
Adam returned briefly to Corrie in 2002 and for a longer spell from 2003 to 2004 when his character was involved in the soap’s first gay kiss with Todd Grimshaw (Bruno Langley).
In recent months, Adam and Katy fulfilled a ‘life long dream’ of buying their ‘home from home’ in Sicily, and have shared a string of idyllic snaps from the island
Adam’s post also showed his wife of 11 years posing up a storm in a bright yellow bikini
During his soap break, Adam decided to launch a music career, releasing Breathe Again as part of his debut album
However, the album only managed to peak at number 41, with Adam (pictured performing in 1999) promptly dropped from his label
Adam made a return to soaps in 2017 when he joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Kyle Kelly, leaving the soap three years later when his character tragically died by suicide
Adam returned to acting with a three-year stint on New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street, which ended in 2010.
In 2014, he went back to music, joining 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.
Adam made a return to soaps in 2017 when he joined the cast of Hollyoaks as Kyle Kelly, leaving the soap three years later when his character tragically died by suicide, and in 2023 he briefly appeared in the BBC favourite Doctors.
Since his rise to fame, Adam has also spoken openly about his mental health struggles, which he said began when he was just 13 years old.
He previously said on Loose Women: ‘Yeah, I did in some respects. It’s quite out there in the public forum that I had issues as a teenager with an eating disorder.
‘But what I don’t think ever I’ve spoken about, or people have realised, is that actually my issues premeditated that and also went on a lot beyond that.
‘I basically suffered from anxiety and depression from the ages of 13 to 30. So for 17 years of my life I was essentially suicidal.
‘It comes in peaks and waves like it does for so many people, but still to this day the best portion of my adult life was spent suicidal.’
In 2023, Adam also revealed that he had been been scammed out of ‘tens of thousands of pounds’ from a cunning bank fraud.
Adam shared that he was a victim of an elaborate push payment scam, leaving him feeling ‘stupid’ and embarrassed’.
In the video, an emotional Adam told how he though he was rather ‘savvy’ when it came to security but admitted he was completely duped by who he believed was the fraud team at Barclay’s bank, remarking: ‘They knew EVERYTHING about me’.
The star admitted he could hardly look his wife Katy in the eye after being conned and said that though some people may ‘laugh’ at him, he wanted to warn others from making his mistake.
Adam has also shared that he suffers with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), which can cause decreased fertility, and feared for years he may be ‘denying’ Katy the chance to have children.
He said in 2021: ‘There are parts of life we’ll miss out on, but we’re not naive. We tried to experience things other people couldn’t… careers, I love acting, Katy loves presenting and journalism, we have a business together, we have the dogs, so we don’t feel like we’re lacking in giving our love to something else.’
On deciding not to go down the IVF route, Katy said: ‘We could have tried the IVF route and it made us sit down, we knew it would be a difficult and unlikely process because of the position we were in, so we decided to make use of the other things we can do.’
In between his onscreen soap stints, Adam opened a craft beer bottle shop, gin specialist and ‘micro bar’, in Knutsford with his GMB presenter wife, Katy.
And in recent months, Adam and Katy fulfilled a ‘life long dream’ of buying their ‘home from home’ in Sicily.
Adam was best known for his acting work, but in recent years he and his wife Katy have stepped away from the spotlight, running a craft beer and artisan gin bar
In 2023, Adam also revealed that he had been been scammed out of ‘tens of thousands of pounds’ from a cunning bank fraud
Katy recently revealed the couple – who regularly holiday in Sicily – were hoping to make the Mediterranean island a bigger part of their lives and hinted at a possible opportunity to grow their business there.
In June, the couple made their dream a reality as they announced they had officially bought a holiday home there.
Announcing the news on Instagram, Katy wrote: ‘Arghhhh! What the hell just happened. We are giddy with excitement!
‘After a ceremony much like a signing of the wedding register we are the proud owners of a tiny slice of heaven in the island we’ve come to know as the Happy Place: ortigia!
He added: ‘After years of obsessively binge watching @aplaceinthesunofficial I still never thought I’d be lucky enough to do this, and maybe we are actually crazy as we’ve remortgaged our own house to do so!
‘But we came to the conclusion that life is too short and being able to save up the date nights and escape here when life gives you a breather rather than having to always plan ahead just felt like the ultimate dream … and worth accepting that the bulldogs will always own the only sofa at home for.
‘We will give you all a proper tour very soon but for now we are off to go and shop for paint and hoovers in the sunshine!! How crazy is that?!!! Oh yeahand apparently we are now PART ORTIGIAN!! I may burst.’
