Corrie’s Colson Smith
Corrie star Colson Smith on Craig becoming Bethany’s unlikely saviour – and growing up in rough, tough Weatherfield …
Heroes come in all shapes and sizes – and there’s no greater example of that than Corrie’s Craig Tinker, saviour of Bethany Platt. The special constable recently diced with danger and risked his career to get his sergeant and mentor, Neil Clifton, to confess to having sex with the vulnerable schoolgirl, who was groomed by her ‘boyfriend’ Nathan Curtis.
Here, we chat to Colson Smith, 19, who plays the unlikely hero…
Are you surprised that out of all the characters in Corrie, it’s Craig who’s been Bethany’s saviour? Yes. You don’t automatically think of Craig as the hero, but I guess he was in the right place at the right time. Bethany needed somebody to listen to her, and he’s the sort of person who will sit back and listen, and not judge.
Craig was a dopey kid when he first came to the cobbles and didn’t speak very much. Are you surprised by the man he has become?
Yes, and it’s been good to play the twists and turns of Craig’s life. He’s
been through a lot. When Faye had her baby we saw a different personality, and when his dad came into the show, we saw an angry and passionate side to Craig. With the Bethany story, this is probably the first time he’s really had to step out of his comfort zone.
Craig has to face his superiors at the police station this week, over the way he got a confession out of Neil. How would he feel if he was given his marching orders? Being in the police force is the first time where he’s felt accepted and like he belongs. He’s upset at the thought of losing his job, but he understands that if that happened, it’s because of what he did for Bethany. So for him, that’s okay.
You joined Coronation Street in 2011. What has it been like for you, growing up on a soap?
I was 12 when I joined the show, and I suppose that being with adults and having friends that were a lot older than me means that I’ve grown up quickly and I’ve got quite an old head on my shoulders. I always tell my friends at home that my banter’s better than theirs because I’ve had more experience. I got fed to the lions the minute I turned 16 and went into
Corrie’s adult green room!
Do you have any behind-the-scenes stories to share? Alan Halsall who plays Tyrone is the king of banter! But what happens in the green room stays in the green room. Let’s just say I learnt quite early on not to leave my mobile phone unaccompanied!
When you look back at your childhood, does it surprise you that you have become an actor? My dad said to me that when you’re a parent and your child is first born, you hold them in your arms and you think ‘This kid is going to be a…’ and he’d have never said ‘actor’ in a million years. I don’t really know where it came from. I was born in Devon in the most rural of rural places, and when I moved to Yorkshire and became a townie, I did loads of stuff after school. I played football, cricket, and
I went to a drama class – and the thing that stuck was drama. I kind of got lucky with it. It was a hobby that turned serious.
Speaking of children, would you like Craig to settle down and have a family one day?
I imagine Craig being the sort of guy to want that life. He’s not had the best of backgrounds, and there’s not much stability in the Tinker family. So I think
Craig just wants stability and normality.
Craig’s fallen for Bethany – would you like them to become an item? It’d be interesting to see. Obviously, she’s been through a lot, and I believe Craig will be there as a friend. He’ll get her back onto the track of enjoying her life and being a teenager. If romance happens, it happens. But it’d be nice to have more scenes with Lucy
Fallon, who plays her.