UPDATE: The actor has officially been fired from Coronation Street.

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Coronation Street actor Chris Fountain has been suspended from the ITV soap after a series of internet videos showing him performing a vile rap about rape was posted on YouTube.

The 25-year-old is shown wearing a Halloween mask and using pseudonym The Phantom to spout lyrics about bombing houses and stabbing people in the face with syringes.

In one distasteful clip, Fountain raps about dragging a girl upstairs, and adds: ‘I will **** anybody up in the worst way, rape a b***h on her birthday.’

In another clip the actor performs a stabbing action while he raps: ‘I’m a nasty ****, I will punch you in the face and you look like you’ve been having some acupuncture ’cos my fist is lethal.

‘I’m a ******* hero, you’ve got ******* zero. I’m a mother******* demon, I’ll stab you in the face with a needle.’

Fountain, who finished runner-up in the third series of celebrity skating show Dancing On Ice in 2008, also raps about being fed up with fame as he lounges on a sofa with local rap group the West Yorkshire Cypher.

‘**** with me and you don’t want to risk it, I’ll play you like a board game. I’m bored of fame so I’m taking the rap game, remember the name, it’s ******* Phantom,’ he raps.

Last night a spokesman for support service Rape Crisis said: ‘This is yet another shocking example of the hatred directed towards women by some men.

An ITV spokesman said: ‘ITV finds the language used and the views expressed in this video totally unacceptable. Chris Fountain has been suspended pending further inquiries into this matter.’

Last night Fountain issued a statement in which 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 and nor will I.’

The former Hollyoaks star has changed his YouTube privacy settings to try to ensure the five videos – already seen by thousands – can no longer be viewed.

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