Adam Rickitt has to run nine miles a day to stop his spine fusing together.
The 38-year-old actor may have girls cooing over his incredibly ripped abs but he has admitted his muscly physique is down to the fact that he has to workout for two hours every day otherwise he could end up in a wheelchair because he suffers from a rare condition called ankylosing spondylitis, which causes the vertebrae to bond together.
He said: "I have to work out for two hours every morning because I have ankylosing spondylitis. 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. I have to do it every single day otherwise I could end up in a wheelchair. I call it the ‘custard disease’ because my spine is like a jug of hot custard – if you put it down for took long, a skin forms. But if you stir it, the skin disappears. If I don’t exercise, my spine solidifies."
Adam was known for portraying Nick Tilsley in ‘Coronation Street’ 13 years ago but, after over a decade away from the limelight, he’s set to make an on-screen comeback.
The hunk has been cast in ‘Hollyoaks’ as multiple sclerosis sufferer Kyle but has admitted he initially felt he hadn’t bagged the role after he didn’t hear back from execs.
Speaking to OK! magazine, he explained: "I’ve been speaking to ‘Hollyoaks’ for years about joining the cast but it’s never been the right time. When this character came along, I knew it was made for me. He is unlike anything I have ever played before.
"I had a meeting with them [bosses] before Christmas but I didn’t hear back for weeks. I’d just begun resigning myself to the fact that it probably wasn’t going to happen when they called and said I’d got the part. I’ve actually always wanted to work on ‘Hollyoaks’."
Adam Rickitt has to run 9 miles a day to stop spine fusing
