Former Coronation Street actor Chris Fountain recently revealed he suffered a mini-stroke which has left him "speaking like a toddler".
Chris, who played Tommy Duckworth on the cobbles for three years, was hospitalised for five days in August and is now awaiting surgery after a blood clot was lodged in his brain and suffered what is known as a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA).
The 35-year-old actor had roles in Hollyoaks and Coronation Street and even took part in the third series of Dancing On Ice – but his showbiz career ended after he filmed a video of himself rapping about rape.
Here we take a look at Chris' career and his fall from grace...
Before his time in soap land, Chris had small roles in a number of TV series including Bob & Rose, Blood Strangers, Were the Heart Is and Always and Everyone.
Chris then joined Hollyoaks as Justin Burton in 2003 – with his character arriving at Hollyoaks with his mother Liz and twin sisters Mel and Sophie.
He portrayed a number of storylines during his six years on the soap, from discovering his dad had taken his own life to being bullied at school by Macki, played by Paul Holowaty.
Chris was nominated for a number of awards during his time on the E4 soap, including Sexiest Male at the British Soap Awards. He also won gongs for Best Actor and Best Storyline.
However, in 2009 he announced he had decided to quit Hollyoaks and left the soap later that year.
Chris took part in the third series of Dancing On Ice is 2008, skating with Frankie Poultney and toured with the show, too. The pair became runners up in the series – narrowly losing out on first place to Suzanne Shaw and Sam Greenfield.
After leaving Hollyoaks, he appeared in an episode of Casualty before it was announced he would be joining Coronation Street in 2010.
He then made his first appearance on the cobbles in March 2011 as Tommy Duckworth, overtaking the role from Joseph Aston who had portrayed the character from 1992 until 2000.
Tommy had turned back up on the street to look for his grandfather Jack, but was told by Tyrone Dobbs he had died.
He later moved in with Tyrone at No. 9 before sparking a romance with Tina McIntyre, played by Michelle Keegan.
Their rocky romance played a part in Tommy's exit storyline as in October 2013 he became fed up with Tina putting others before him and left for the airport. A month later he called Tina to reveal his decision to split from her.
Away from the cobbles, however, soap writers had to write Chris out of the soap after he posted obscene videos of himself rapping as his alter-ego The Phantom emerged.
Wearing a Halloween mask, baseball cap and hoodie in the video, he rapped vile lyrics about rape and violence.
After the clip was discovered by shocked fans Chris offered a grovelling apology as he said: "I would like to sincerely apologise for any offence I have caused.
"I am deeply ashamed by the lyrics and very much regret my behaviour.
"The videos were made over a year ago when I was experimenting with music and I’ve not done anything like it since, nor will I."
ITV bosses took the decision to suspend Chris over the video as they said: "ITV find the language used and the views expressed in this video totally unacceptable.
"Chris Fountain has been suspended pending further inquiries into this matter."
Later, the show bosses decided to write Chris' character out of the soap after they were left with "no choice" but to sack the actor.
A senior Corrie source told the Mirror in 2013: "It was the only action we could take. Chris left us no choice with what he has done and this seemed to be appropriate action.
"Everyone at ITV signs contracts which have a code of conduct and Chris is in breach of his.
"These videos were shocking and disgusting and Chris couldn’t defend them. No one could."
Meanwhile, an ITV spokesperson confirmed: "Chris Fountain’s contract with ITV has been terminated as a result of the unacceptable comments he made in a number of online clips."
Following the sacking, Chris fell into a "dark depression", which he discussed on podcast Mancs on the Mic, hosted by Ryan Thomas and his brothers Scott and Adam.
Speaking in the episode, which was released earlier this year, Chris explained: "The context of the stuff that I said [in the video] was horrendous. I would never think to say that to anybody.
"But 24-year-old me was just thinking ‘I want to rap.’ I was just trying to do what everyone else was doing."
He added: "When we’re talking about challenges this was an absolute monster.
"My life, my job, my image, my reputation – everything was just ripped away within 24 hours. I didn’t leave my house for four days."
Recalling the moment his life changed forever, Chris said: "I’ve been in some very dark, horrible places to the point where I realised I needed to start changing the way I was thinking – otherwise I might not have been here.
"I didn’t really understand mental health that much back then. I’d never been this discombobulated before.
"I was meant to go on This Morning and then that got cancelled because they didn't want me on there. Then I parted ways with my agent. Then there was no work.
"It was just this constant thing. Then after a while I was like: 'I think I’m depressed, I think I’m going through depression here'."
He added: "Then it got to a point where this isn’t just sadness now. This is something else. My whole body is f*****. My head just feels like a swamp. Even to this day now, I don’t think I’m the same person now that I was before."
Chris' work prospects in acting were "bleak" after the video emerged, despite acting since he was 10 years old.
He had one TV role in ITV drama Girlfriends in 2018 and has acted in plays but has since considered another career path.
The former Corrie actor said: "Am I not getting jobs because of that [the video] – or am I not getting jobs because I’m not as good an actor as I once thought I was? I don’t know if I’ll ever find that answer."
