Chris Fountain opens up about 'traumatising' mini-stroke

Watch: Chris Fountain opens up about 'traumatising' mini-stroke

Chris Fountain has opened up about suffering a mini-stroke at the age of 35.

The former Coronation Street actor was forced to get help after losing the ability to speak in August this year.

Now, appearing on This Morning to discuss his illness, Fountain has admitted the ordeal was 'traumatising'.

Read more: 'Corrie' and 'Dancing On Ice' star Chris Fountain, 35, suffered mini-stroke

Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield, Fountain said he became aware "something wasn't quite right" when he couldn't articulate things around him.

He added that his "brain and mouth were not on the same page".

Going into what caused the mini-stroke, Fountain said: "I’ve found out since going back into hospital that I have a hole in my heart. Yeah. Now apparently this is quite common and a lot of people will go through life and not ever realise [they have the condition]."

He continued: "But the problem I had was that the clot got through the hole and then went to my brain which went to the left-hand side of my brain, which was my speech and memory which is obviously why I couldn’t speak properly."

Since suffering the mini-stroke, Fountain says he is doing well and is grateful as it could have been "so much worse".

Fountain is best known for his work on soap operas Coronation Street and Hollyoaks.

He played Tommy Duckworth in Coronation Street between 2011 and 2013 before being sacked from the show after a video emerged of him rapping about rape. He later apologised for the content of the video.

Since then, he has appeared in the Kay Mellor comedy-drama Girlfriends.

Read more: Chris Fountain left 'depressed and ashamed' by sacking

The symptoms of a mini-stroke come on quickly and it is important to phone 999 for an ambulance as soon as possible.

Symptoms include the face dropping to one side, not being able to lift your arms, changes in speech and vision loss.

Watch below: Chris Fountain talks about his mental health after being fired in 2013