The actor’s onscreen counterpart, Craig Tinker, was killed off from Coronation Street in heartbreaking scenes
Coronation Street’s Colson Smith couldn’t be happier with the manner of his exit from the ITV show. The soap star has played Craig Tinker on the Cobbles since he was 11 years old.
The fictional police officer was killed off in heartbreaking fashion on Wednesday’s episode after he was beaten up by Mick Michaelis. In tonight’s show, Craig showed some signs of life as viewers were hopeful he was about to make a recovery from the attack.
However, his condition soon deteriorated as the character’s 14 year stint in Weatherfield came to an end when he was declared dead by doctors. In an interview with the ECHO and other press, Colson explained Craig’s death couldn’t have been more fitting for his onscreen counterpart.
He said: “Craig dying in the line of duty felt like the perfect exit. It feels like it’s done. It feels like it’s finished. I’ve got everything I’ve got from Coronation Street and that’s it now. I know there’s no return for Craig or Colson in the future.
“I did say I won’t be coming back as a ghost. The day I leave will be the day that I leave. I felt very lucky with that.” Colson also lifted the lid on when show producer Kate Brooks told him about the plans to write his character out of the show.
Speaking about the conversation last year, he told the ECHO and other press: “I’d already braced myself for what was going to happen. I knew that my time was up and that Craig had backed himself into a corner he couldn’t get himself out of.
“In the chat, Kate spoke for about 20 minutes. I stopped her and asked two questions, one is ‘when’ and two is ‘if I get killed?.” He added: “She sort of stumbled and I said, ‘If it makes it easier for you, the right answer is yes.’ In a really weird way, it was the right thing for me to be killed.
“I didn’t want that thing of we might have you back, knowing it will be unlikely and it will feel like unfinished business.” Colson knew being told the news of his departure would be the toughest part of his Corrie exit and set about giving all he had to the storyline.
The actor explained the second most difficult day would be his final time filming so made sure to soak it all in on his penultimate night on set. He said: “I just sat outside the Rovers on the street for probably an hour. Soaked it all in and that was my way of saying goodbye to Corrie and everything it had done for me.
“I felt ready to go. Bring on tomorrow.” Although Colson had come to terms with his exit, some of his co-stars were still struggling to process his departure as he explained Kirk Sutherland star, Andy Whyment, was particularly emotional on his final day.
He said: “I was sat in the car park playing ‘I Try’ by Macy Gray as Andy pulled in [and he was] in tears. He parked his car skew-whiff. He said, ‘I’m sorry, my head has been a mess. I said, ‘it’s gonna be a lot here.'”
“Andy kept on saying, ‘no I don’t like it, I can’t believe what’s happening.’.” However, Colson is forever bonded with his co-star and he reveals the two remain in close contact.
He said: “He rang me yesterday to tell what had gone off at work and who was late. I was like, ‘Bloody hell, it’s like I’m still there’. Colson left his co-stars a parting gift as he said: “I’d bought everybody a Lego Craig Tinker. I put a sticker on it saying PC Tinker will always be there when you need him. I will miss you forever.”
Colson admitted his life will never be the same now he has left Craig Tinker behind as he said: “I do miss Corrie. I miss going to work and miss having a job. I’m accepting that nothing will ever replace that.
“I can do anything in the rest of my career and I will never get what I got from Corrie. And that’s the thing I’m going to miss. I just know that it won’t be Corrie. That’s my grief as such. That chapter is over.
“Corrie has been my life. I started as an 11 year old and it’s all I can remember. Everything I have done and achieved have been while being a part of Coronation Street.
“That’s what I will forever be grateful for. I wouldn’t say it’s changed my life, I’d say it’s been my life. My life is what it is because I have been Craig Tinker.”
Colson is now looking forward to what the future brings as he continues to host his On the Sofa podcast with Corrie star, Jack P Shepherd and Ben Price. The actor, who appeared on Celebrity Big Brother last year, admitted he has enjoyed the career change as he is excited to try new things now that he has permanently left the Cobbles.
He said: “I’ve made no secret I want to be a presenter. That’s where my love and passion lies at the moment. Ever since doing On the Sofa with Jack and Ben, I enjoy being Colson, telling stories and hosting a show, direct to the camera.
“After 14 years of the same thing, you have a taste for something different. At the moment there are irons in the fire and, to do the typical showbiz thing of teasing, I’ve got stuff going on and I’m excited. I’m going through the process still of winding down after 14 years and I’m looking forward to going to work again.”
