Former Corrie star Adam enlists TV pals to play Shrewsbury charity match

Celebrity players including Eastender Jake Wood, X-Factor winner James Arthur and This Morning's Jeff Brazier will be lining up at Shrewsbury Town FC's Greenhous Meadow stadium on August 30 for the match.

They will be joined by a host of celebrities including Dane Bowers, Dean Gaffney, Gareth Gates and Soccer AM's Tubes.

The funds raised will help Telford-based PDSA provide its veterinary services across the county, which is includes treatment for 1,300 pets in Shropshire at an annual cost of more than £175,000.

Adam Rickitt has got involved with the PDSA because of his love of animals.

Since leaving Coronation Street, where he played Nicky Tilsley, he has dabbled in politics by standing as a Conservative candidate.

He says he enjoys being an organiser and it was a natural progression to help lobby support for the PDSA, which has its headquarters in Whitechapel Way, Priorslee, Telford

He is organising the match by calling in plenty of favours with his showbiz friends.

• The charity match takes place at Greenhous Meadow on Sunday August 30. Kick-off is 3pm.

• Tickets cost £10 for adults and £2 for under-16s.

• VIP packages are also available, with the opportunity to meet and greet the players.

• Tickets are available from the Shrewsbury Town FC Box Office on (01743) 273943 or by visiting pdsa.org.uk/football

• All proceeds from ticket sales will go to funding PDSA’s veterinary services in Shropshire.

Adam said: "It's great that well-known singers, actors and presenters have agreed to play and support a great cause.

"We can't wait to see them battling it out to raise funds for poorly pets.

"PDSA provides some of the most vulnerable pets in society with the veterinary care they deserve and all proceeds from ticket sales will help fund that service in Shropshire.

"Working in showbiz since I was younger, I know quite a few big names. So I was going through my phone and thought why do we do something for charity.

"I decided it had to be something fun, as I want to get as many people involved as possible.

"That's how me and Kevin came up with the idea, we have done a few charity events together in the past, and this time I picked the charity PDSA. I chose it because it is a charity very close to my heart.

"I come from quite a big family and we had so many animals it was like Noah's Ark, and I think everyone should be able to give their pets the best possible life, no matter what their circumstances are.

"Some people say if you are disabled or vulnerable you shouldn't have pets, but I disagree, because we have organisations like PDSA who make it possible.

"I don't know what I would do without my dog Rufus, he is my soulmate, actually I shouldn't say that as I'm married – he's my best friend.

"So if raising a bit of money by doing this gives someone else a best friend, it just seems so obvious to do."

Adam is no stranger to helping animals as he rescued his dog while he was living in New Zealand.

"Rufus is an Australian Cattle Dog, and I always wanted this breed because of the dog in Mad Max," he said. "But they are only bred in Australia, which kind of made me want one more. So when I lived in New Zealand for a while I decided to try and find one.

"I asked one of the make-up girls who was working with me on a show and she told me about a farmer who's dog had had these puppies.

"However he was going to drown them as his dog was a working dog and wanted her back on the farm.

"I couldn't let that happen so I drove eight hours to go and save the two week old litter.

"I then hand reared them myself, and managed to find them homes. But Rufus was the only male in the litter, and I couldn't give him away.

"So when I moved back to England I bought him back with me, and I'd be lost without him.

"We hope football fans and animal lovers alike with come and support us this Bank Holiday. We'll be unveiling more celebrity names over the coming weeks, for what promises to be a great family day out."

The first celebrities announced that are taking part include, X Factor finalist Jay James, Harley "Sylvester" Alexander-Sule from The Rizzle Kicks, MC Harvey from So Solid Crew and Darren Everest from The Overtones.

Eastenders stars Danny Boy Hatchard, Jamie Borthwick, and Terry Alderton are also on the list. Joining them will be Tubes and Franky Fryer from Soccer AM

Also taking part will be Tom Davis from Keith Lemon Sketch Show and Murder in Successville.

Jayne Bebb, Shrewsbury Town club secretary, said: "This is all for charity and we only felt it was right to host the match here.

"We thought anything we can do to help, is good. Everyone at the club is really looking forward to the day and we can't wait to see who else will be taking part."