Former Hollyoaks actor Adam Rickitt has revealed that a battle with the autoimmune disease Ankylosing Spondylitis has left him infertile.

The 42-year-old learned of his condition in 2011, shortly after he first got together with his wife Katy Fawcett, who works as a reporter for Good Morning Britain.

The actor told OK! magazine: "I have an autoimmune disorder called Ankylosing Spondylitis and one of the effects is decreased fertility.

"This lovely doctor was like, 'Mr Rickitt, you're supposed to have a sperm count of three million, you have two. I said, 'Two million?' He said, 'No, you have two!"

Fawcett added: "I didn't really bat an eyelid. I was like, 'Oh, that's a shame, but we've got each other.' I know having kids is very important for a lot of people, so it's almost a good thing it happened to us."

Rickitt exited the Channel 4 soap earlier this month in upsetting scenes that saw his character Kyle decide to take his own life.