Coronation Street favourite Colson Smith quipped that things didn’t exactly go according to plan during his final day filming for the flagship ITV programme.
The actor, 26, recently said goodbye to Weatherfield after 14 years playing Craig Tinker. Fans witnessed Colson take a number of different storylines, including his battle with OCD to his rise as a police officer.
However, March 21 marked the end of an era for Colson, as he shot his final scenes, followed by a celebratory night at the El Gato Negro Tapas restaurant in Manchester.
Opening up on the On The Sofa podcast, which he co-hosts with fellow Corrie stars Ben Price (Nick Tilsley) and Jack P Shepherd (David Platt), Colson shared anecdotes from his farewell shoot.
Highlighting the unpredictability of filming, Ben humorously remarked that “nothing goes to plan” and it was a case of “two Roy’s Rolls and out”, reports Leicestershire Live.
“It was classic Corrie in that nothing quite goes to plan,” he said. “I was meant to be on set until half 12 and then when we broke for tea at half past nine, I was like, ‘I’m going to be out of here by half past 11’.
“I think I was done by about 10 to 12, wasn’t I? We were well ahead.”
Jack then recounted how he feared missing Colson’s final moments on set due to being in a different unit. But as luck would have it, he managed to make it in time to witness Colson’s last take.
“Luckily, my unit, because I was on a different unit, they were a bit ahead so it kind of worked out,” Jack said. “I was on a different shoot but luckily I managed to get there just so I could hear them basically say, ‘And cut and that’s a finish on the scene and a wrap on Colson’.”
Ben, meanwhile, gave the soap’s fans a little insight to how the show bids farewell to departing characters.
He said: “What traditionally happens is you’re all waiting behind, they’ll say it’s your last take. But it’s not your last take. They lie to you and go, ‘We need just one more’ but they don’t.
“And that’s when everyone piles into Roy’s Rolls and goes, ‘Now that’s a wrap’, and then you get a round of applause, the Champagne, the big card.”
Colson, meanwhile, revealed how he got a “little bottle of Champagne and a card” from the bosses and a particularly thoughtful gift from his co-stars. An avid runner, Colson was presented with a medal featuring his “stats” on Coronation Street and a surprise running holiday.
He added fondly: “It was very, very sweet.”
In an announcement that surprised fans last year, Colson revealed that showrunners planned to write his character off the show. He took to social media with the update: “Autumn last year I was told that Craig Tinker’s time on the Cobbles is to come to end in 2025.
“I’ve loved every single second of my 14-year stay as a resident on the greatest street in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up in, on and around Coronation Street. I’ve learned pretty much everything about life from the people who call it home. I’m excited to play out the exit story for Our Craigy.”
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