It was a dark, dark day in Coronation Street when Craig Tinker lost his life, the devastating result of a vicious and violent attack by Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton).

Ten months ago, Craig pulled Mick over for drink driving, resulting in Mick pulling out a baseball bat and wrapping it around our Craigy’s head. Left for dead, Craig was found

by Maria Connor (Samia Longchambon), worked on by trainee paramedic Asha Alahan (Tanisha Gorey) before being transported to hospital alongside colleague Lisa Swain (Vicky Myers).

Panic over!

Though Craig woke up temporarily, his condition deteriorated and he later succumbed to his injuries.

Fans, and apparently co-stars alike, are still saddened over the kind-hearted baby copper’s demise, with Lucy Fallon, who plays Bethany Platt on the ITV soap, taking to her Instagram story with a snap of her and the actor behind Craig, Colson Smith in the Rover’s Return.

‘Saw you in the Rover’s today friend [Colson], rip x’ Lucy captioned the image and thus sent Corrie fans into an utter tailspin.

The ‘RIP Colson’ portion of the story panicked Lucy’s followers, with them thinking that the actor had passed away, forcing her to set the record straight.

She next shared a grab of a text conversation between Colson and herself, in which she told him ‘I’ve accidentally told people you’ve died, but I didn’t mean you, I meant Craig’.

She captioned the image: ‘Disclaimer – Craig died, not Colson’, confirming to worried viewers that Colson is, in fact, very much alive.

Colson Smith’s Coronation Street axeing

Craig was axed in 2024 and when news of his departure from the cobbles found its way into the press, he took to Instagram to confirm the rumours.

‘Autumn last year I was told that Craig Tinkers time on the Cobbles is to come to end in 2025,’ he began the emotional caption.

‘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 learnt pretty much everything about life from the people who call it home.

‘I’m excited to play out the exit story for Our Craigy.

‘For me, this is just the end of the beginning. I genuinely can’t wait to see what chapter 2 has in store for me.

LONG LIVE THE COBBLES!’

He was flooded with comments from his co-stars.

Sue Devaney said: ‘Love you Cols. so proud of you. Looking forward to watching your journey and can’t wait to see all your new exciting projects come to fruition! Shine bright young man and can we still have a party in your mega garden please? xxxx.’

Andy Whyment, Colson’s on-screen step dad, added: ‘I’m still absolutely gutted and you know how much you’re gonna be missed by us all. But I’m also really excited for you as I know you’re going to do really well, and you won’t be getting rid of me we’re friends for life now.’

Lucy herself said at the time: ‘Now that i’ve stopped crying about it, i can’t WAIT to see you slay the day. X.’

Colson has branched out into other avenues since his Corrie exit, maintaining his podcast with former co-stars Jack P. Shepherd and Ben Price and appearing on a number of game shows. Lucy Fallon, meanwhile, is currently on maternity leave.