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Coronation Street’s Colson Smith has revealed that he was trolled over his ‘looks’ aged just 11 as he discussed his recent weight loss on Monday’s This Morning.
The actor, 22, who plays lovable Craig Tinker on the cobbles, is set to release a documentary called Bored Of Being The Fat Kid on his YouTube channel.
Colson has shed an impressive amount of weight and become a fitness enthusiast after ‘self-harming’ with food, saying he was fed up of always being ‘the fat kid’.
Weight loss journey: Coronation Street’s Colson Smith has revealed that he was trolled over his ‘looks’ aged just 11 as he discussed his recent weight loss on Monday’s This Morning
Talking about the trolling he received before losing weight, the actor revealed that he first got vile comments when he was aged just 11-years-old and that he also experienced a ‘difficult’ time in school due to being the ‘odd one out’.
Colson said: ‘At 11-years-old after my first episode I was quite excited.
‘The first thing you do is search on Twitter to see what people are saying about you and your acting and they weren’t talking about my acting, they were talking about the way I look.
‘From a young age I’d had a difficult time in school because I was always the odd one out. From 11, being in the public eye, it came from there as well.’
Starting out: The actor, 22, who plays lovable Craig Tinker on the cobbles, is set to release a documentary called Bored Of Being The Fat Kid on his YouTube channel (pictured in 2011)
Transformed: Colson has shed an impressive amount of weight and become a fitness enthusiast after ‘self-harming’ with food, saying he was fed up of always being ‘the fat kid’ (pictured, left, in 2018, and, right, on Monday)
Talking about trolling further, Colson added: ‘People say things about you that they don’t think you’ll necessarily see.
‘As an actor and somebody who wants to perform, it comes down to it that in your job the acting comes for free and everything else comes with it. In a way it’s part and parcel of the job. It shouldn’t be, but it is.’
Colson revealed that he decided to lose weight at the end of 2019 after he assessed his relationship with food, asking Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod if his weight loss could be incorporated into a storyline for his character Craig Tinker.
The actor admitted that lockdown could have been a ‘perfect excuse’ for him to put weight on but instead it forced him to ‘stop and refocus’.
Sad: Talking about the trolling he received before losing weight, the actor revealed that he first got vile comments when he was aged just 11-years-old and that he also experienced a ‘difficult’ time in school due to being the ‘odd one out’
Colson said: ‘I spoke to Ian our boss and were talking about what’s next for Craig. I said I’d be up for losing weight if we can fit it in a story and they came back and said we would.
‘I sat down at the end of 2019 and said: “I’m gonna make sure I can do this.” I’d always felt my role was to be the fat kid and I was 22, I’ve had the same job since I was 11 and I thought: “It’s time for a change.”
‘In March, the world changed and it was lockdown and that could have been the perfect excuse but for me, it was the perfect opportunity to stop and refocus. In that time in lockdown I learned a lot about myself.’
Colson said that he has realised how much ‘self-respect’ he has for himself after documenting his weight loss for his YouTube documentary, adding that he has gained confidence.
Life decision: Colson revealed that he decided to lose weight at the end of 2019 after he assessed his relationship with food, asking Coronation Street boss Iain MacLeod if his weight loss could be incorporated into a storyline for his character Craig Tinker
He said: ‘It’s just been one of those things. It was tied in with work and then I realised it was more important for Colson than it was for Craig on Coronation Street.
‘I just sat down and made little goals. It’s been an experience I’ve really enjoyed. I always thought that was me.
‘When I was making the film I realised how much self-respect I had for myself, versus how much I have for myself now. It’s completely changed. In terms of my mental health, my ability and my confidence – it has changed a lot.
‘It’s something so simple like a little investment in yourself. I’m excited what’s next for Craig and how this will affect things. We saw him getting more confident…’
‘Focus’: The actor admitted that lockdown could have been a ‘perfect excuse’ for him to put weight on but instead it forced him to ‘stop and refocus’ (pictured in 2020)
It comes after Colson described his relationship with food as ‘self harm’ after soaring to soap stardom at the tender age of 11.
The 22-year-old opened up about being branded ‘the fat kid’ as a child star in a candid interview over the weekend.
He told The Sun: ‘At 11 years old I had a Twitter account. You log in, you search your name, you search ‘Craig Corrie’ and you’re looking to see what people are saying about your character or your acting, and all they’re saying is about your weight and the way you look.
‘I was being branded as just the fat kid from day one. Even at school I was always the fat kid, I was always the odd one out.’
He grew up on the stalwart ITV soap and, at age 17, moved into his own place in Manchester, away from his family. It was this point he let his relationship with food get the better of him, he revealed.
‘I’m sat on Deliveroo every night. I got myself into a really unhealthy position. Food was a self harm to me like that, it was my comfort, and I didn’t realise how much damage I was doing to myself with it,’ he added.
Colson said that his relationship with food was ‘very bad’ and that it was ‘bingey’ and ‘probably a disorder’.
The actor’s new documentary has been shot over 18 months – and looks at how he had to check with those at Coronation Street that he was allowed to drastically change the way he looked.
Goals: Colson hopes to demonstrate that losing weight is important to self-worth, rather than figures on a scale or aesthetics
He went ahead and charted the journey over lockdown with co-star Ben Price, who plays Nick Tilsley on the soap. Ben – who is Colson’s flatmate too – will interview him.
Tim Royle – one of the Corrie directors – helmed the project. The documentary will also follow Colson as he develops a love for running.
He has insisted, ahead of the release next month, that the purpose of the project is not to preach or advocate a certain diet or exercise regimen.
Instead, Colson hopes to demonstrate that losing weight is important to self-worth, rather than figures on a scale or aesthetics.
Last year Colson spoke about how his staggering weight loss would cause continuity issues on Coronation Street during filming.
Joking that he’d lost 10 stone in the few months filming was halted, he quipped he’d have to wear a fat suit for his scenes.
The star’s character Craig had been trying to trim down on the ITV soap, and Colson admitted the fitness plot was his brainchild and he has been keeping it going during the coronavirus lockdown.
He said on Good Morning Britain last year: ‘When you go up and suggest a storyline where your character goes on a bit of a transformation the one thing in the back of my head is, “Oh, I’ve got to do that as well”.
‘While we’re not seeing the Street at the moment, I’ve kept Craig Tinker’s fitness journey going behind closed doors.
‘So when we’re back we’ll be ready to see what Craig has been up to.’
Bored Of Being The Fat Kid is slated for release on June 2 on Colson’s YouTube channel.
Exciting: Bored Of Being The Fat Kid is slated for release on June 2 on Colson’s YouTube channel (pictured in April)
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