SOAP SHOCK
Coronation Street’s Colson Smith reveals he issued bosses huge demand after finding out he’d been axed
The actor was cut loose from the shop after 14 years playing Craig
Coronation Street star Colson Smith has ruled out ever returning to the soap as a ghost or in a flashback.
The actor has played Craig Tinker for the last 14 years but tonight’s episode marked his final appearance after the police officer died after being brutally attacked by villain Mick.
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Now speaking for the first time after his final appearance, Colson insisted that he wouldn’t be making a post-death appearance like so many of his other colleagues.
“Yeah, I did say I won't be coming back as a ghost,” he said.
“I was like, the day I leave will be the day that I leave.”
He added: “It feels like it's done. It feels like it's finished, like I've got everything that I've got from Coronation Street and that's it now.
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“So it felt very much like a thank you, goodbye, goodnight type thing, because I know there's no return for Craig and Colson in the future.
“I have spoke to people who have left and not been killed and I just feel like, for me, it was 100% the right way to kind of know that I'm not coming back.”
And speaking about the moment he found out Craig was being killed off, Colson said he was relieved.
“Weirdly, so when I was in the chat with Kate [Brooks, producer], I'd already braced myself for like what was about to happen,” he said.
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“I have 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 sort of thing, and I knew that Craig had backed himself into a corner that was going to be really hard to get out of, so I fully expected the chat to go that way.
Coronation Street favourite left for dead in brutal attack after actor is axed from soap
“In the conversation with Kate, there had 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, and one is when, and two is, do I get killed?'
“And she kind of like, stopped and stumbled a little bit. And I said, if it makes it easier for you, the right answer for me is yes. Like for me to go, I would want to leave.
“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.
Most devastating soap deaths
SOAP viewers are frequently left heartbroken after watching some of their favourite characters bite the dust.
Here is a list of the most devastating deaths that have taken place in soapland over the years.
EASTENDERS
Barry Evans - Evil Janine (Charlie Brooks) lured her trusting fiance to Scotland for a quickie marriage after learning he was dying.
Her plan to inherit Barry’s fortune was thwarted when Barry told her that the doctors had mixed up his medical files.
Furious that she was no longer set for a windfall, she pushed Barry off a cliff after telling him their love was “fake”.
Bradley Branning - Bradley was accused of killing Stacey Slater’s rapist Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) after he punched him twice on the night he died.
He was spotted in the Square by a police woman who chased him up a fire escape.
Bradley lost his balance and tragically plunged to his death.
CORONATION STREET
Tina McIntyre - Tina was getting it on with Peter Barlow - despite him being married to Carla Connor.
When she threatened to reveal the truth, Carla's brother Rob got into a physical altercation with her.
Tina lost her footing and fell off a balcony - then warned Rob she was going to tell the cops he pushed her.
In a panic, Rob brutally clobbered her over the head with a metal pipe.
Molly Dobbs - Molly was one of the victims in Corrie's 2010 tram crash, alongside Ashley Peacock (Steven Arnold).
Married to Tyrone (Alan Halsall), Molly had been having an affair with Kevin Webster (Michael Le Vell) in the months before her death.
This resulted in the birth of their son, Jack (Kyran Bowes), who was named after Jack Duckworth.
As fate would have it, Kevin's wife Sally (Sally Dynevor) was by Molly's side in her final moments.
Sally was stunned as Molly confessed Kevin was Jack's father, before dying of her injuries.
Vera Duckworth - Having appeared regularly in Corrie since the 1970s, there was no denying Vera Duckworth was an iconic character.
Alongside her husband Jack, the pair formed one of the soap's most beloved couples.
Viewers were heartbroken when Vera was killed off in 2008, being discovered having passed away peacefully in her chair.
Liz Dawn, who played Vera, made a brief return two years later for Bill Tarmey's exit as Jack.
Paul Foreman - Fans were heartbroken when Paul Foreman succumbed to his illness after battling motor neurone disease.
Introduced in 2018 as David Platt's (Jack P. Shepherd) cellmate, he later embarked on a romance - and marriage - with vicar Billy Mayhew.
The MND storyline was announced in 2023 - with the expectation it would result in the character's death.
EMMERDALE
Sarah Sugden - After the family got into financial problems, Sarah's son Andy (Kelvin Fletcher) decided to make some quick cash from an insurance company by setting fire to the Sugden barn.
He didn't realise his mum was inside the building, and she got trapped in the blaze.
Nine villagers - The shocking 1993 plane crash episode brought in 18 million viewers for Emmerdale.
Mark Hughes was killed by a falling wall, Archie Brooks was burned by jet fuel, Elizabeth Pollard was killed by debris and newcomer Leonard Kempinski died in a car crash caused by the crash.
Five other non-recurring characters from the village also died.
HOLLYOAKS
Carmel McQueen - The talented singer died in shocking scenes when a train crashed into a her family's car.
Carmel managed to free her cousin Theresa from the rubble - but got stuck in it herself.
Moments later the train exploded and Carmel died in the arms of her family members, promising to be their guardian angel.
“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.”
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