Colson Smith happy with 'perfect' Coronation Street exit
Colson Smith has spoken out after his final 'Coronation Street' scenes aired on Wednesday (21.05.25).
Colson Smith thinks he had a "perfect" exit from 'Coronation Street'.
The 26-year-old actor bowed out of the show on Wednesday (21.05.25) after 14 years when his alter ego, PC Craig Tinker, was killed off after dying from the injuries he sustained when brutally attacked by Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton) when he got in his way in the previous episode.
Colson found out last year that he was to leave the show and he told producer Kate Brooks he'd be happy to be killed off, and he was particularly happy to find out Craig would die a "hero's death".
Speaking to reporters, he said: "I'd already braced myself for what was about to happen. I'd been in that building since I was 12 years old, so I know exactly how it works. So I knew that my time was up and I knew that Craig had backed himself into a corner that was gonna be really hard to get out of.
"So I fully expected the chat to go that way. In the conversation with Kate, there'd been about 20 minutes of Kate kind of, talking to me, but we hadn't touched on when, or how, or who or what.
"So I kind of stopped Kate and said 'Look, I have two questions: one is when, and two is do I get killed?' And she kind of stopped and stumbled a little bit; and I said 'If it makes it easier for you, the right answer for me is Yes.'
"For me to go, I would want to die, I would want the door to be shut so then I can kind of know in my head that Corrie has been this, Corrie has done that and it is now done, and Craig's journey is over.'
"So in a really weird way, it was the right thing for me to be killed. I didn't want that 'We might have you back', knowing that it would be very unlikely and knowing that it would feel a bit like unfinished business and an unfinished job.
"I think Craig dying, and Craig dying in the line of duty as a copper, that kind of hero's death was by far the most perfect story for the exit."
Colson promised fans won't see Craig again in spirit form or in flashbacks.
He laughed: "I did say I won't be coming back as a ghost. I was like, 'the day I leave, will be the day that I leave!' "
Despite Craig's tragic death, Colson enjoyed filming his last scenes.
He said: "I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was very lucky, because obviously we work with different directors all the time at Corrie, and we worked with Duncan Foster on this block, who has done so many big blocks over 30 years.
"I think he said I was the 40th person that he's killed! You kind of feel instantly in safe hands, and you feel like, when you're on set, that you're doing something special."On the Thursday night I came back to work, it must have been about 8pm, and it was a really nice evening. It was warm and security knew that I was coming.
"I just sat outside the Rovers on the street, and I just sat there for probably about an hour; and just sat, chilled, sat on the street, kind of soaked it all in and just said, my way of saying goodbye and thank you to Corrie and everything that it had done for me. And then I felt okay, I was like 'done, I feel ready to go, bring on tomorrow.'"
