CORONATION Street’s Colson Smith has revealed that he had to wear size 20XL as a teenager because he was “too fat” to fit into clothes.
The actor – who plays Craig Tinker on the ITV soap for a decade – said he struggled to find the right size when he was growing up and relied on one specific online retailer for his outfits.
The 23-year-old soap star decided to overhaul his fitness regime during the first lockdown and lost ten stone.
He previously admitted he was self-harming with food after being abused for his weight by viewers at just 11 years old.
Recalling happier days from his childhood, Colson said on the Sofa Cinema Club podcast: “Henry VIII was the first ever part that I played in year three and I smashed it at age eight.
“Each school form would take on the assembly, it was my class turn to run the assembly and we a show about Henry VIII and I was Henry VIII and I was f******g mint.
Colson Smith
“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.”
He then went onto reveal the difficulties of buying clothes – saying that “nothing” would fit and he would often be more adventurous with his 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 added.
Colson told The Celeb Report how he was faced with abuse for his weight by soap fans at just 11.
He said: “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.”
The actor has now signed up to new ITV TV show The Games where he will take on a series of Olympic sports challenges.
A source said: “Colson has worked so hard to get fit so when he was approached by The Games he couldn’t turn them down.
“He used running to lose ten stone in weight and now loves keeping fit.
“By taking part in The Games Colson will be able to push himself to the limit and try out different challenges.”
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The series will show celebrities taking part in a series of Olympic sports including the discus and sprinting.
The Games will be hosted by Holly Willoughby and Freddie Flintoff when it finally hits screens later this year.
