Chris Fountain – Hollyoaks
Justin Burton is one of Hollyoaks’ most iconic characters, having memorably had an affair with his teacher Becca Hayton as a teenager.
Chris Fountain – who played Justin – was last seen on-screen in 2019, but viewers hoped he was making a comeback last year when his and Becca’s now grown-up son Charlie Dean went looking for him.
However, it wasn’t to be, as all Charlie found was a gravestone which confirmed Justin had died in October 2022.
While Chris hasn’t spoken out about Justin’s sudden off-screen death, he went on to star in Corrie as Tommy Duckworth in 2011.
However, two years later, he was axed from the ITV soap after videos emerged which saw him rapping about rape and violence under the alias of The Phantom.
At the time, an ITV spokesperson said: “Chris Fountain’s contract with ITV has been terminated as a result of the unacceptable comments he made in a number of online clips.”
Chris issued a statement after the incident saying he was “deeply ashamed by the lyrics”.
Speaking on Scott Thomas’ podcast Learning As I Go, last year, 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.”
