Cuddington heart-throb Adam Rickitt is going back to his roots after signing up for a role in Chester-based soap Hollyoaks.

The 38-year-old former Coronation Street star will play a character called Kyle who is suffering from multiple sclerosis, in scenes that will air next month.

Best known for his role on the cobbles as Nick Tilsley between 1997 and 2004, Adam also dabbled with a career in pop, but after his debut hit single I Breathe Again, he failed to set the charts alight and was dropped from his record label in 1999.

A stint in politics followed as was accepted as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Conservative Party, but this also didn’t work out, and he was last seen on our screens in 2014 on ITV2’s Big Reunion.

Adam said his new role was ‘made for me’, as the actor suffers from Ankylosing Spondilitis – a disease which causes the spine’s vertebrae to fuse together if they remain still for too long.

He told OK! Magazine that in order to combat the disease, he has to work out for two hours a day and run nine miles.

Adam during his Coronation Street days as Nick Tilsley in 1998

Adam said: “When I wake up in the morning, I’m in a lot of pain so I go straight out for a nine-mile run. I also do press-ups, sit-ups and pull-ups.”

Describing it as ‘the custard disease’, he said: “My spine is like a jug of hot custard - if you put it down for too long, a skin forms. But if you stir it in, the skin disappears. If I don’t exercise my spine solidifies.”

Hollyoaks producers hinted that the character of Kyle, an ex boyfriend of Nancy Osborne, could cause problems between her and her current partner Darren.

Adam said: “I am really happy to be joining Hollyoaks. I’ve had a lot of friends work on the show throughout the years and they’ve all told me what an amazing place it is to work so it’s really good to be a part of such a welcoming crowd.”