A CELEBRITY couple have become the new owners of Knutsford’s Dexter and Jones.

Actor and singer Adam Rickitt and his TV presenter wife Katy have bought the popular craft beer bottle shop, gin specialist and micro bar after falling in love with the venue when it opened in 2016.

Adam, who found fame playing Nick Tilsley in Coronation Street, said: “From the moment we discovered the place we were hooked.

“Whether it was drinking in or finding a treasure to take home, it was just like a grown-up sweet shop.

“We said to the owners there and then that if they ever even thought about selling up they had to let us know first.”

Katy, a Good Morning Britain presenter, added: “Then in the summer, the day before we boarded the plane for our holiday, Karen one of owners rang to say they were putting the place on the market. We just looked at each other and in unison said: ‘Yes’.

“It has been a long process to finally get the keys. We’ve had to pretty much beg, borrow, steal and remortgage the house to make it happen.

“But the place has always meant so much to us we never really had a choice. The idea of it just disappearing or being turned into a chain was something we, and all the regulars, would have found heart-breaking.”

There will be some changes though, including a food offering.

Adam, who currently plays Kyle Kelly in Hollyoaks and had a top five single with 1999’s I Breathe Again, said: “We won’t be changing anything that so many love about Dexter and Jones, but we are looking to improve the wine and coffee offering, as well as putting on some food like cakes, tapas and toasties. Basically, just little tweaks that mean we can actually just live there!”

Katy added: “For us this is very much our baby. We will both always do our day jobs but at the same time we have wanted to do something together for so long and just feel lucky that we can do that with something we have such passion for.”

Adam said: “At a time when high streets are becoming carbon copies of themselves, owning something so individual and with such a great reputation feels like a real responsibility but something we hope everyone will come to enjoy as much as us.”