Coronation Street's Colson Smith has revealed that his character, Craig Tinker, will be departing the soap after an eventful 14 years. His time on the show saw Craig face school bullies, develop OCD and even become embroiled in an arson investigation.
The 26-year-old actor described his departure from Corrie as "like saying goodbye to your life," and has started a podcast titled 'Colson's Final Week On Corrie' to document his final days.
He expressed that he'll miss not only his co-stars, but also the street itself, which he considers to be almost a character: "I've had the best days on the worst days of my life on that street," he reminisced.
Colson shared how he bid his own kind of farewell to the famous cobbles. After work one day, he took a detour onto the set during a run: "I got on Victoria Street and ran down the street.
"By the time I'd finished and I was on the street at night on my own, I thought 'All right, maybe now's the time to say goodbye."
However, Colson noted that he still had a lot more work to do and that it was too early for his final goodbye. It's believed that he filmed his dramatic final scenes this week.
He mentioned that he'll miss his fellow cast members and the fun of spending time with them. He anticipates that the shock of leaving might not hit him immediately: "I don't think it's going to hit that first Monday. I think it'll hit in six weeks."
He'll miss the camaraderie more than the job itself, he reveals: "I think the fundamentals of the job is the bit I found the easiest of process that it's ending."
However, Colson is set to depart from the Corrie cast WhatsApp group immediately after his exit from the show, planning to leave "at midnight on Friday," likely while enjoying himself at his top nightclub spot.
Colson notes that many former stars remain in the chat, including Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt: "Pretty much everyone's stayed on the chat... " However, he anticipates his departure might trigger a wave of exits among past Corrie actors.
With a touch of humour, he suggests his last words in the group will be "I never liked any of you, bye!".
It's a tradition for the cast to gather in the studio for an actor's final scene, and for the departing star to feign surprise, Colson shares.
He's bracing himself for a challenging farewell scene: "Ive got a lot of dialogue in that last scene, it's five-and-a-half pages. It's me and Dave Neilson [Roy Cropper] back and forward over the counter!"
English (United States) ·