Coronation Street star Colson Smith has revealed why it was the "right thing" to kill off his character Craig Tinker after the beloved police officer met a devastating end in tonight's episode (Wednesday, May 21).
Colson has played the lovable Craig for 14 years, but his time as the Weatherfield policeman was cut short after Craig was killed in the line of duty at the hands of evil Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton).
While Craig was determined to prove himself on the first day of his CID training, Mick's behaviour took a nasty turn when he discovered that his 16-year-old son Brody (Ryan Mulvey) might actually be the biological son of his old friend Kit Green's (Jacob Roberts). The revelation came out after Kit taunted Mick over how his wife Lou (Farrel Hegarty) isn't as loyal as he thinks she is.
Mick violently attacked Lou during their confrontation, which was when Craig was called to a domestic disturbance at their home. After the incident, a furious Mick fled in his van to get revenge on Kit.
As Mick was on the warpath, Craig pulled him over at the Weatherfield Precinct for drink-driving. But in a horrifying turn of events, Craig's life was left hanging in the balance when Mick viciously attacked him with a bat and left him for dead.
Craig was rushed to intensive care after being found by Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon), where DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) learned that Craig had swelling on his brain. There was a flicker of hope though when Craig regained consciousness and told paramedic Asha Alahan (Tanisha Gorey) that he knew what happened to him. But as he was questioned by the police, Craig suffered a cardiac arrest and tragically passed away.
Despite those heartbreaking scenes, Colson shared that it was the right decision for Craig to be murdered when he was first told by Coronation Street boss Kate Brooks how his character would be bowing out of the soap.
Talking to What To Watch and other media, he said: "In the conversation with Kate, there had been about 20 minutes of Kate talking to me, but we hadn't touched on when or how, or who or what. So I stopped Kate and said, 'Look, I have two questions, and one is when? And two is, do I get killed?' She stopped and stumbled a little bit and I said, 'If it makes it easier for you, the right answer for me is yes'. I would want to leave. I would want to die, I would want the door to be shut, so that I can know in my head 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 like unfinished business and an unfinished job. So 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."
In soapland, it's not uncommon for characters to return as a ghosts or for a flashback scene. So, could we be seeing Craig's ghost patrolling the streets of Weatherfield once more? Unfortunately, the answer is no, as Colson shared that his Coronation Street chapter is officially over and he won't be coming back.
He told us: "I've got everything that I've got from Coronation Street and that's it now. 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 spoken to people who have left and not been killed, and I just feel like, for me, it was 100 per cent the right way to know that I'm not coming back. 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."
Coronation Street airs hour-long episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8 pm on ITV1 — see our TV Guide for full listings. You can also catch up on episodes on ITVX.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
