Colson Smith’s incredible weight loss journey: Coronation Street star went from ‘self-harming’ with food and massive KFC binges to losing 10st

March 16, 2024

Coronation Street star Colson Smith looks almost unrecognizable from the moment he first set foot on the cobbles over a decade ago, having moved as many as 10 bricks in the past three years.

The Celebrity Big Brother contestant’s incredible weight loss journey has been anything but easy and he has been bullied for his physique since he was 11.

From still seeing ‘that fat kid’ when he looks in the mirror, to running in disguise in the middle of the night, Colson faced a host of challenges after deciding to shake up his lifestyle during lockdown 2020.

In a 2021 interview with The mirrorthe actor who plays police officer Craig Tinker in the ITV soap, opened up about his food struggles and admitted he would ‘harm’ himself with food.

“My routine (before) was very difficult because I left my parents at 17 to live in Manchester, which was far from home,” he told the publication.

Coronation Street star Colson Smith, 25, looks almost unrecognizable from the moment he first set foot on the cobbles after shifting a whopping 10 stones (pictured right in 2018, left in 2020)

In a 2021 interview, Colson admitted to using the food as a form of ‘self-harm’ by ordering Deliveroo almost every night (photo 2024)

‘And when everyone else was at university I was on bloody Deliveroo every night. So I had put myself in a very unhealthy position where eating was a form of self-harm for me.

‘It was my comfort and I didn’t realize how much damage I was doing to myself with it.’

But at the end of 2019, Colson decided he wanted to take care of himself after years of feeling like “the odd one out.”

He even approached Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod to see if his weight loss could be woven into his character’s storyline on the show.

Although the star admitted lockdown could have been the ‘perfect excuse’ to pile on the weight, he said it had the opposite effect – forcing him to ‘stop and refocus’.

Colson made changes to his diet and also started going to the gym and running – but this didn’t come without problems.

In a 2021 interview with Runner’s world the actor revealed that he often ran away at night in disguise wearing a ‘sniffle and a cap’ because he didn’t want to be seen.

But the Corrie star later shared that once he saw others in the same position as him, his ‘inhibitions’ started to drop and his confidence grew.

“You don’t do it for anyone else, and no one else will do it for you. Once you get that idea in your head, you have a winner,” he said.

Colson confessed that he used to run in disguise and only at night because he felt too ’embarrassed’ about his size prior to his 10 stone weight loss (pictured left in 2019, right 2021)

The actor even approached Coronation Street bosses so that his appearance change could be incorporated into his character Craig Tinker (pictured on 11 in 2011)

Despite transforming his life, Colson confessed that he will likely struggle with his body image for the “rest of his life.”

“That fat kid is the kid I looked at in the mirror every day and I still see him now,” he said in 2021.

“But I’m not going to ask for a big paycheck to keep up an old pair of pants.” I want to tell the story my way.’

The actor also revealed that he was bullied from a very young age, receiving his first bout of mean comments when he was just 11 years old.

Colson also said that the majority of trolling he would receive would be related to his appearance, “99.9 percent of the time.”

He also said his role as a TV child star made him “a target” at school for both his job and his appearance, describing it as “the worst of both worlds.”

Despite the buzz he got from his runs, Colson recently revealed that his relationship with food was a major challenge before he started his weight loss journey.

In a candid confession to housemate Sharon Osbourne, Colson revealed that during his weight loss battle he starved himself and binged – before deciding to overhaul his lifestyle.

He confessed to Sharon: “I used to drive to KFC and order three meals. Then I would hate myself, so I wouldn’t eat for a day and a half.”

The avid runner opened up to Celebrity Big Brother housemate Sharon Osbourne and revealed he often starved himself and ate junk food.

“I lost weight when I was 18 on a pretty strict diet and what I found was that I gained weight and then tried to diet again,” Colson said.

‘I wouldn’t eat for a day and a half. I would just starve myself.”

“Then I’d be so hungry…” Colson started to say, before Sharon interjected, “The floodgates would burst.”

Colson nodded in agreement and confessed, “I used to drive to KFC and order three meals.

“Then I would hate myself, so I wouldn’t eat for a day and a half and that would be the case for months and months and months.”

He praised his girlfriend for supporting him on his journey, adding: “I’m happy that I did what I did the way I did it, and that I have the level of control that it has given me , because I have discipline and I understand myself too.’