Celebrity Cheshire TV couple Adam and Katy Rickitt today released a special video message after it was confirmed they will celebrate tourism superstars and host the Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards 2027.
Today Adam – best known for playing Nick Tilsley on Coronation Street and Kyle Kelly on Channel 4’s Hollyoaks – and Katy a reporter for Good Morning Britain, said they were “super excited” at the chance to help celebrate the businesses and people powering Cheshire and Warrington’s world class tourism offer.
The Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards, organised by the region’s tourism body Marketing Cheshire and sponsored by Staff 86, celebrate the businesses and individuals behind Cheshire and Warrington’s £4.3 billion visitor economy which attracts more than 50m visitors each year.
As well as unveiling the celebrity hosts, Marketing Cheshire added to the list of confirmed finalists (full list below) as judging has now concluded in the Best Event and Festival Award. Vying to win this category will be Chester Christmas Market, Chester Racecourse, Deva Fest, Halloween at BeWILDerwood, Walton Live Ltd in partnership with Walton Hall and Gardens and Tatton Park.
Adam and Katy live in Knutsford and own the town’s bottle shop Dexter and Jones, recently extended to include an event space and beer garden, called The Dog House, They will welcome an expected 300-plus guests at the glittering event at Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, on Thursday, February 11.
The couple recorded a message ahead of the event in their beer garden joking “we will be there to support you in your hour of need” and said they couldn’t wait to celebrate tourism superstars in their beloved Cheshire.
Adam, who grew up in Cuddington and enjoyed chart success with album Good Times, said: “I am super excited to be hosting the Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards with Katy and helping to celebrate the superstars in a region I grew up in and where own business is based. The diversity and strength of the visitor economy in Cheshire and Warrington is phenomenal and I can’t wait to meet the businesses and individuals behind it.”
Katy added: “The continued success of Cheshire’s tourism sector plays a huge part in the region’s prosperity and why people, ourselves included, want to work and live here and why millions of visitors come back year after year. I can’t wait to help crown the stars behind our tourist gems!”
From iconic attractions and spa stays to unforgettable events and outstanding hospitality, the shortlist shines a spotlight on the best across Cheshire and Warrington.
Those hoping to roar to success include Chester Zoo. It is shortlisted in five categories for services across the business, namely: Business Event Venue of the Year Award, Large Hotel of the Year Award, Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award, New Tourism Business of the Year Award, and Wedding Venue of the Year Award.
Other Cheshire gems with multiple nominations include The Bear’s Paw in Chester and The Pheasant Inn in Tattenhall in Pub of the Year Award, the Taste of Cheshire Award and Small Serviced Accommodation Award.
While the Ice Cream Farm in Chester is hoping to enjoy a double helping of success – finding itself as a finalist in the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award and Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award.
This year also sees a new category – the Rising Star Award – which honours a 16-to-24-year-old who has shown outstanding commitment to building skills, advancing their career, and contributing to the region’s tourism sector.
Jamie Christon, Chair of Marketing Cheshire, said: “We are delighted to announce Adam and Katy as our hosts for the 2027 Visit Cheshire Tourism Awards. As Cheshire residents and business owners they will be well aware of the truly world-class offering and we know they will bring warmth, energy and passion to the job and make the ceremony a special night for all.
“We are now counting down to February for our big do at Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere, which is shaping up to be among our best awards nights ever.”
Confirmed finalists:
Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Award
Circus Starr (Congleton)
Forestry England Delamere Forest (Northwich)
The Ice Cream Farm (Chester)
Best Event and Festival Award
Beyond the View: Canaletto at Tatton Park (Knutsford)
Boodles May Festival, Chester Racecourse (Chester)
Chester Christmas Market (Chester)
Daresbury Festival, Walton Live Ltd in partnership with Walton Hall and Gardens (Higher Walton)
Deva Fest (Malpas)
Halloween at BeWILDerwood (Whitchurch)
Business Events Venue of the Year
Cottons Hotel & Spa (Knutsford)
Crewe Hall Hotel and Spa (Crewe)
Grosvenor Pulford Hotel & Spa (Pulford)
Oddfellows Chester (Chester)
The Square at Chester Zoo (Chester)
Wychwood Park Hotel and Golf Club (Weston)
Camping, Glamping Holiday Park of the Year
Aqueduct Marina (Nantwich)
Lady Heyes Holiday Park (Frodsham)
New Farm Cheshire Holidays (Winsford)
Experience of the Year
Chester Cathedral (Chester)
Go Ape Delamere Forest (Northwich)
Halton Village Silver (Frodsham)
Lapland Group (Siddington)
Live History (Chester)
Walking Food Tours UK (Chester)
Wild Shore Delamere (Delamere)
Large Hotel of the Year
Cottons Hotel & Spa (Knutsford)
Crewe Hall Hotel & Spa (Crewe)
Grosvenor Pulford Hotel & Spa (Pulford)
Hotel Indigo, Chester (Chester)
Moxy Chester (Chester)
Peckforton Castle (Tarporley)
The Queen at Chester Hotel (Chester)
The Reserve, Chester Zoo (Chester)
Large Visitor Attraction of the Year
Chester Zoo (Chester)
Forestry England Delamere Forest (Delamere)
Storyhouse (Chester)
The Ice Cream Farm (Tattenhall)
Walton Hall and Gardens (Warrington)
New Tourism Business
The Reserve, Chester Zoo (Chester)
Holmes Chapel Zoo (Holmes Chapel)
Pub of the Year
The Bear’s Paw (Warmingham)
The Fishpool Inn (Northwich)
The Fox and Hounds in Sproston (Sproston)
The Pheasant Inn (Tattenhall)
The White Horse in Churton (Churton)
Rising Star
Mollie Fish, Circus Starr (Congleton)
Shaun Gill, Hotel Indigo Chester & The Forge (Chester)
Small Serviced Accommodation of the Year
Oddfellows Chester (Chester)
The Bear’s Paw (Warmingham)
The Hive at 52 (Northwich)
The North Wing at Combermere Abbey (Whitchurch)
The Pheasant Inn (Tattenhall)
Small Visitor Attraction of the Year
AXT Haus (Chester)
Escapism Chester (Chester)
The Hole In Wand Chester (Chester)
Taste of Cheshire Award
Nunsmere Hall (Northwich)
Pars Kahve (Chester)
Restaurant Noted (Chester)
The Bear’s Paw (Warmingham)
The Fishpool Inn (Northwich)
The Pheasant Inn (Tattenhall)
Tilly’s Bunbury (Tarporley)
Upstairs at the Grill (Chester)
Team of the Year
Circus Starr (Congleton)
Combermere Gardens Dream Team (Whitchurch)
Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere (Nr Knutsford)
The Queen at Chester Hotel (Chester)
Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement (Macclesfield)
Tatton Park (Knutsford)
The Park Royal Hotel & Spa (Warrington)
Unsung Hero Award
Ivette Marocsik, Head Housekeeper, Cottons Hotel (Knutsford)
Jamie Donoher, IT Manager, Fairmont Cheshire, The Mere (Knutsford)
Tori Hayes, Marketing and Events Manager, Taste Cheshire (Chester)
Wedding Venue of the Year
Chester Zoo (Chester)
Crewe Hall Hotel & Spa (Crewe)
Larkspur Lodge (Knutsford)
Peckforton Castle (Tarporley)
Rowton Hall Hotel & Spa (Nr Chester)
The Parr’s Bank Hotel (Warrington)
Walton Hall and Gardens (Higher Walton, Warrington)
