Coronation Street’s Colson Smith promises ‘no return’ after Craig Tinker’s emotional death

Coronation Street star Colson Smith has ruled out the possibility of a return for Craig Tinker after his emotional death, explaining that any flashback or ghost scenes are off the table.

The character was tragically killed in a brutal attack this week while attempting to prove himself to DC Kit Green (Jacob Roberts).

When his day shadowing the detective took a turn for the worse, Craig was advised by DS Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers) to get back in uniform and prove that Kit was wrong about him not making a good DC.

Seizing the opportunity to do just that, Craig pulled over Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton) for a breathalyser test, after catching him drink driving.

However, things took a drastic turn when Mick lashed out with a baseball bat and knocked Craig unconscious, before fleeing the scene and leaving him bleeding out.

Craig was rushed to hospital when Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon) found him, but his condition quickly deteriorated and he was pronounced dead after doctors were unable to resuscitate him.

Though fans are devastated by Craig’s death, actor Colson Smith revealed that this was the way he wanted the character to go when he found out that his time on the cobbles was coming to an end.

‘In the conversation with Kate [Brooks, producer], there had been about 20 minutes of Kate talking to me, but we hadn’t touched on when or how, or who or what,’ he explained.

‘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. 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 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.

‘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 recent years, countless dead characters have returned to the street in the form of a ghost, hallucination or flashback, the most recent examples being Paul Foreman and Seb Franklin.

However, Colson has denied any chance of seeing ghost Craig in the future, revealing that there will be ‘no return’ for the character, as he has closed the door on the experience.

‘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”.’

Speaking about the finality of his exit, Colson 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.

‘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 know that I’m not coming back.’