HES whippet thin with all the appeal of a doe-eyed deer but don't let those innocent looks fool you.
Many have tried to dismiss floppy- haired actor Adam Rickitt as a pretty-boy bimbo but time and again hes confounded his critics.
In a career full of risks, he has quit as Coronation Streets Nick Tilsley, walked away from a successful pop career and even considered becoming a Conservative MP.
But in a life of surprises Adams latest job could be his most astonishing yet.
Since April he has been working nine-to-five as a capital appeals manager for the RSPCA.
He aims to spend at least 18 months raising cash for the charity which wants to build a high-profile and essential facility for animals in the West Midlands.
Adam, 33, says: The RSPCA offer came when I needed a break from showbiz so I thought why not? I've supported the charity since I was a kid and adore animals. I thought it was the perfect chance to make a difference for a cause I really believe in.
Last week Adam, who has also worked in PR, mucked in with RSPCA rescue workers at an animal shelter near Birmingham.
He says: I'm not worried about what is and isnt cool. I just want to go to bed each night feeling Ive done something that has inspired me.
Some may think Adams current break from the lucrative world of showbiz is a gamble but hes no stranger to taking a chance.
Physique
Adam, the fourth generation of Rickitt's to go to boarding school, had his future mapped for him when he went to Sedbergh, Cumbria.
He says: I expected to follow the life path of going to boarding school, play rugby, go to Oxford or Cambridge, get a job in the City and then spend the rest of my life playing golf but that wasn't for me. I had the grades for Cambridge but I wanted to be an actor.
Playing rugby at Sedbergh School which nurtured former England rugby captain Will Carlings skill helped shape Adams famous six-pack physique. He left school and became a model in an agency run by Take That's ex manager Nigel Martin-Smith.
He says: On my first day he said I should audition for a TV part being advertised by Granada Television. I had no acting experience and I never thought Id get it.
I walked in whistling and when Corries then producer Brian Park rang later he said it was the most relaxed audition he had ever seen.
Playing Gail's son Nick changed Adams life and he was soon enjoying 72-hour parties with cast members and having a lot of fun.
Adam in Corrie with Gail
He says: When I joined the show I was like a kid in a sweet shop. Between 18 and 20 I was sleeping with everyone who had a heart beat.
I used to go out clubbing on a Friday with cast members including Steve Arnold (Ashley Peacock), Martin Hancock (Spider) and Jane Danson (Leanne). It was great fun but it was an eye opener as I used to meet people who later went on to sell stories about me.
With his profile rocketing, Adams manager saw a chance to turn him into a pop star. He left Corrie in 1999 and signed a six-album deal with Polydor.
Adam was almost nude in the video for his first single I Breathe Again which reached No5 in the UK.
But he grew sick of being labelled a bimbo. He was constantly being quizzed about his own sexuality, and says: I was encouraged to play the gay card, especially with my music.
I was into dance music but my manager Nigel wanted me to go down a Euro pop path.
We recorded an entire album in just two weeks but it was never about the music and in the two years I did it I only sang live twice.
It was all about doing interviews. I spent two years being asked the same questions such as what was my favourite colour or cheese was by pop magazine journalists. It was deathly boring.
I'm not gay but I didn't want to make a big fuss as the gay community was very supportive of me. Everyone thought, Adam Rickitts a bit of a bimbo, a gay icon and thick as two short planks. Initially it was fine but after four years I was fed up.
Floppy
I even got offered threesomes with lesbians who were attracted to me because I looked like a girl back then with my floppy blonde hair.
And after an eight-month stint in the West End play Rent, which left him with nodules on his vocal chords, Adam returned to Corrie in 2003 and his most controversial storyline.
Rippling: Adam won many fans
He was on the receiving end of the soaps first gay kiss, from Todd Grimshaw, played by Bruno Langley, as he was sleeping. Adam says: They landed this gay kiss storyline on me with Bruno but they had no idea what to do with it or my character afterwards.
It was all over the papers and I thought it was a storm in a tea cup. I was saddened people made a big deal of it and found it a bit disillusioning.
I was not happy and when I was told they were looking to discuss renewing my contract I said I wanted out.
But if Adams departure surprised fans, his next move shocked everyone when, in October 2005, he was picked as a prospective parliamentary candidate for the Tories.
Adam appeared on the BBC1s Question Time but when he was tipped to stand for the safe seat of Macclesfield he fell foul of sitting MP Sir Nicholas Winterton. I wish Adam luck, but there are no vacancies here, said the MP.
Adam says he had fully intended becoming an MP but never sought to oust Winterton.
He gave up his political ambitions in 2007 and left Britain to start a new life in New Zealand on their soap Shortland Street. The star spent four years in Auckland and says it was the best acting move he ever made. He says: I went to work every day with a smile on my face, I loved it.
Creatively it was awesome as my character had so many different storylines. He arrived in the show as a back packer but by the end he had been a pimp, involved in gun running, killed his best friend, sold dead body parts and was involved in gangland stuff. But the producer changed and the new one wanted to take my character in a much tamer direction so I asked to be killed off.
While in New Zealand he gave a home to Rufus, an Australian cattle dog which its owner was going to drown along with other puppies.
Thankfully, I rescued Rufus and the others and re-homed them all. So I guess it is now time to give something back and that is why I am happy to work with the RSPCA.
I may go back to politics or get back into TV land but for the moment I am happy taking a step away from showbiz. It is a great opportunity for me to make a real difference and I am taking it.
To support the work of the RSPCA text: leap12 and then any amount up to s10 to 70070.