Chris Fountain has revealed he is set to undergo heart surgery after he suffered a stroke.
The soap actor is known for his role as Tommy Duckworth on the long-running ITV show. However, he feared "life as he knew it" was over when doctors discovered he’d had a Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA) after a blood clot lodged in his brain.
The 35-year-old suffered the mini stroke in August last year and spent five days in a London hospital. Chris has since dedicated himself to raising awareness of the condition and completed the London Marathon this weekend to raise money for the Stroke Association.
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He has taken to Instagram today to confirm he went to hospital today for a pre-op to treat the hole in his heart that led to the stroke. He said: "On May 12, I'll be going in to have this hole in my heart closed up, which is called a PFO closure.
"What they do is, go in through my groin, go up to my heart and put this thing through where the hole is and it leaves a metal umbrella and they pull it through, it leaves another little metal umbrella at the other side. Then my heart grows around it and hopefully, that should mean no more strokes and I'll have a little bionic heart.
"It's a little bit nerve-wracking as it's a heart procedure but apparently it's 99.9% successful I'll have to take it easy for a week or so after it's done. So yeah, we do a marathon and then we go to do a heart operation, as you do."
Chris was tearful as he crossed the finish line at the London Marathon on Sunday in under 4 hours. He said: "I am beyond proud of myself. THANKYOU to everyone who cheered, donated, ran with me and everything else in between. I’m so, so happy. Will never forget this feeling"
Chris shot to fame in 2003 when he landed the role of Justin Burton in Hollyoaks. In 2010, he swapped Chester for Weatherfield when he joined the cast of Corrie as Tommy. His acting career was derailed when he was sacked after being unmasked as a YouTube rapper who had used lyrics that implored violence against women.
Chris has apologised for his actions and said he’s “ashamed and embarrassed” about the language he used during a “moment of madness as a young man”. He said: "I know what I did was wrong, and I’m mortified about it, there is not a day goes by that I don’t regret rapping those lyrics but the situation was not as it was reported and I’m not the person they said I was.
"I think we’ve all done stuff we’re not proud of, we’ve all made mistakes that we hopefully learn from, but it was 10 years ago and for whatever reason, I’m never allowed to forget what I did and move forward.
“It’s so disheartening that any time I try and make a positive step forward or an attempt to move on, it’s like someone’s grabbing me by the neck saying, ‘No, you can’t do that because remember that one mistake you made ten years ago? You’re not allowed’.”
He is now set on rebuilding his TV career. He said: "Acting is all I have ever known. I have worked professionally as an actor since I was 14 and until someone tells me my acting ability is not up to standard I won’t give up on it.
“After everything I’ve been through recently I’m determined not to let people’s opinions of me affect me anymore. I’ve been up for some really big roles recently and I’m getting down to the final stages.
“I don’t know if I’m not getting the roles because I’m just not right for the part or if the powers that be are worried that what happened will bring them bad press. I’ve thought about it non stop for years, but I’m going to stop worrying about what I can’t control any longer.
“I’m just going to keep pushing forward, go for jobs I love and hope that casting directors will see me for the man I am now, not the one mistake I made a decade ago.”
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