Colson John Smith (born 13 August 1998) is an English actor, known for portraying the role of Craig Tinker on the ITV soap opera ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' between 2011 and 2025. He has also appeared as a contestant on the ITV reality series '' The Games'' (2022) and ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...

'' (2024). Colson Smith departed as his Character PC Craig Tinker was murdered whilst dealing with a domestic incident which led to Craig following the suspect Mick by patrol car and was hit with a baseball bat, he later died of brain injuries.

Life and career

Smith was born on 13 August 1998 in

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome to the south of the Dorset Dow ...

, and later moved to

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a Metropolitan counties of England, metropolitan and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and east, South Yorkshire and De ...

, where he attended Castleford High School. In 2009, Smith began attending acting classes run by Northern Film and Drama. In 2011, he was cast as Craig Tinker in the ITV soap opera ''

'', the son of

Beth Tinker Beth Tinker (also Sutherland) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', played by Lisa George. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 5 August 2011. In 2023, it was announce ...

(

Lisa George Lisa George (born 15 October 1970) is an English actress. She played the role of Beth Tinker in the ITV (TV channel), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2011 to 2024. In 2020, George competed in the Dancing on Ice (series 12), twelfth se ...

). His character's storylines have included a battle with OCD and becoming a police officer. For his role of Craig, he was nominated for Best Young Actor at the 2015 ''Inside Soap'' Awards. Outside of ''Coronation Street'', Smith has appeared as Adam Concus in several short films, the first being ''Platform2C'' in 2011, followed by ''Hollows Wood'' and ''Jailhouse Dog'' in 2014. He also appeared as Jack in ''Reverie''. In 2020, Smith took up running to lose weight and released his own

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

documentary ''Bored of Being the Fat Kid''. He also appeared on the ''Sofa Cinema Club'' podcast alongside his ''Coronation Street'' co-stars

Ben Price Ben Price (born 30 June 1971) is an English actor, director and writer. He has played the role of Nick Tilsley in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' and has made four films as a writer/director, the first of which, ''I'm Sorry To Tell Y ...

and Jack P. Shepherd. In 2021, he appeared on a celebrity special of ''Sitting on a Fortune''. In May 2022, he was a contestant on the sporting reality series '' The Games''. In March 2024, Smith entered the ''

'' house to compete in the twenty-third series, and reached the final and came in third He is a supporter of Leeds United Football Club. In 2024, Smith featured in the first four episodes of the spin off series '' I'm a Celebrity: Unpacked'', following his fellow Corrie star

Alan Halsall Alan David Halsall (born 11 August 1982) is an English actor, best known for portraying the role of Tyrone Dobbs in ''Coronation Street'', a role he has played since 1998. Early life Halsall was brought up in Walkden, Salford and attended W ...

featuring in the main show. In January 2025, Smith announced that he had been axed from ''Coronation Street'' after 14 years, with his final scenes airing on 23 May 2025.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Colson 1998 births English male child actors English male soap opera actors Living people Participants in British reality television series People from Dorchester, Dorset People from Castleford Male actors from Dorset Male actors from West Yorkshire Actors from West Dorset District Actors from the City of Wakefield