Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Zara Woodcock

Corrie’s Colson Smith wore 20XL size clothes as a teen before incredible weight loss

Coronation Street star Colson Smith was forced to wear 20XL-sized clothes when he was a teenager before he lost weight.

The soap actor, who plays Craig Tinker on the show, revealed he relied on a specific online retailer for clothes.

During the first coronavirus lockdown, he completely changed his diet and lifestyle and lost 10 stone.

Colson explained on the Sofa Cinema Club podcast that 'nothing' would fit him so he focused his adventurous side on shoes.

"Then being probably 18/19 I started to really enjoy like a pair of shoes, it was mainly shoes because I was too fat to wear clothes, nothing fit...whatever ASOS did in 20 XL and then shoes... anyone can fit into shoes," he said.

The star also reminisced about his childhood and how Henry VIII was the first-ever role he had when he was eight years old.

Colson lost weight in the last few years (ITV)

"Each school form would take on the assembly, it was my class turn to run the assembly and we did a show about Henry VIII and I was Henry VIII and I was f******g mint," Colson said.

"It was that good we had to put the assembly on for the parents. It was that moment that I wanted to be an actor and started showing interest in it."

Colson joined Coronation Street in 2011 and said he had to deal with hateful messages about his weight from an early age.

Previously speaking about his weight loss, Colson said: “I was always the fat kid. In most of my social situations, social circles, that's just who I was.

He had to wear 20XL clothes (ITV)
As he didn't have a lot of choices with clothes, he went all out with shoes (PhotoEye.co.uk)

Get all the biggest showbiz news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror Showbiz newsletter.

“And it's kind of the identity that I ended up with. I made that conscious decision. I was ready to kind of change that identity and I was ready to move on from it."

When he decided to do a 180 on his relationship with food in 2019, he even spoke with Corrie bosses so any change to his appearance could be incorporated into the show.

Since then he has changed his diet and also exercised.

He heard comments about his weight since a young age (ITV)

It started with Colson going to the gym but his main source of exercise quickly became morning runs.

“In lockdown, I put myself first over everything. Now, when it comes to normal life, I've kind of still got that in my head.

"So when I'm going through my day, when I've got my work, when I've got stuff, other stuff going on, I'm trying to balance my day out," he added.

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct at 0207 29 33033.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.