FORMER soap star Chris Fountain has revealed how he went from being Coronation Street's golden child to getting cancelled overnight after making a costly mistake.
A decade ago, the actor's star was well and truly on the rise. He'd achieved heartthrob status in both Hollyoaks and Corrie, bagging prestigious best actor awards along the way.
Not only that, he'd won Dancing On Ice, performing some of the most memorable routines in the show's history.
But all that success came crashing down when homemade videos of him rapping as alter-ego The Phantom came to light.
In the clips, Chris wore a mask and could be heard rapping about women in a derogatory manner with lyrics involving rape.
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His Corrie character Tommy Duckworth was written out of the soap as a result, and Chris hasn't had a major acting role since, despite apologising profusely for the vile videos.
Speaking to Scott Thomas's Learning As I Go podcast, Chris said: "That singular week in August 2013 just blew my entire life apart.
"All the foundations of what I'd built as a career just completely came crashing down. And it was the start of a real downward spiral in terms of my mental health, my confidence."
Not only has his career taken a bruising, but Chris has overcome traumatic health issues too.
He underwent heart surgery earlier this year after suffering a stroke caused by a blood clot.
The stroke, which left him temporarily unable to speak, was caused by an undiagnosed hole in his heart.
The upside of the problems is that he now has an incredibly resilient mindset.
He said: "I've developed a level of resistance that is untouchable now. The amount of stuff that's happened, you can keep throwing it at me and I'm going to keep getting up."
Soap stars rallied around him after his latest interview.
Kelvin Fletcher said: "One of the most talented people I’ve come across. Class act too."
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Kieron Richardson commented: "He is a phenomenal actor - with a heart of gold! Him and Lynda need a show."
Hayley Tamaddon posted: "I’m so proud of you Chris."
In a previous interview, Chris revealed what he really thought about his shock rap clips.
He said: “I can’t condone anything that I said. I’m ashamed of it, I’m embarrassed of it, but at the time, I wasn’t thinking, ‘Yeah, I want to be really vicious towards women’. That wasn’t the case at all."
He continued: "I’ve got more respect for women probably than men, because the way that I was brought up and the passion and care and protection I’ve had from women has been incredible throughout my life."
