Coronation Street star Colson Smith has been on quite the weight loss journey over this past year, and his new documentary is set to shed some light on it all.
Smith – a regular on Manchester’s most famous cobbles since 2011 playing Craig Tinker – has regularly shared updates of his fitness journey on social media since the start of 2020 and most-notably received an outpouring of support from stunned fans after taking to Instagram to share a post-run picture back in May.
While he largely chose to keep to himself, has made the decision not to share the amount of weight lost, and wanted to hide his progress from the public, now 18-months down the line, the 22-year-old actor is set to release a documentary on his journey.
‘Bored Of Being The Fat Kid’ will be released in full on Colson’s YouTube channel next Wednesday 2nd June.
Colson shared a teaser post for the documentary on Instagram this morning.
ADVERTISEMENT
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPPzNl8Dd4h/
The documentary will see him tell the story of his weight loss journey in his own words, but instead of focusing on a number on the scale or the amount he has lost, it will give a real look into his thoughts and feelings as he found his love of running and went from “the 10-year-old being best mates with the dinner lady so he got more food to being the 22-year-old who is now putting himself first and wants to get the most out of his life.”
Colson said he grew up being “the fat kid”.
ADVERTISEMENT
He told a selection of the media that being called the “fat kid” was something he experienced within all walks of life, and that it was “kind of the identity I ended up with”.
After joining the soap in August 2011 when he was just 11-years-old, Colson found himself seeing comments about his weight online, adding: “You search your name [and] you search ‘Craig Corrie’ to see what people are saying about your character, your acting and all they’re saying is about your weight and the way you look.
“I was exposed to just being branded the fat kid, the this, the that from day one”.
ADVERTISEMENT
Instagram – @colsonjsmith
It wasn’t until Colson turned 21 that he realised he wanted to “mix it up” and change the identity he had lived with for much of his life.
He decided to live his life with “no regrets”.
The documentary will also touch upon the “difficult” challenge he faced with people congratulating him on his weight loss, adding: “When people started to realise and I started to get the attention and be congratulated, I found that difficult because I was being congratulated for not looking the way I looked”.
Colson admits that we should “expect nothing” from the documentary after originally setting out to just film it for himself as a way of looking back on his progress, but it becomes clear to audiences that he his transformation is not just physical, but also mental – and one worth sharing.
“I go from this kid who clearly doesn’t like himself, to growing in confidence”, Colson adds.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I learned who Colson is. I’ve learnt to like myself, to trust myself, to believe in myself and I now enjoy life.”
You can watch the trailer for the documentary here.
‘Bored Of Being The Fat Kid’ will be released in full on Colson’s YouTube channel next Wednesday 2nd June.
The Chestergate pub in Stockport is at it again with some of the most wonderfully Manc scenes you’ll ever see
Danny Jones
The legendary Chestergate pub in Stockport is back with another belter of a video, following on from their viral belly-flashing clip of 2022.
The Mersey Square boozer has painted yet another quintessentially Northern depiction of UK pub culture with the latest Manc scenes they’ve captured around the karaoke machine.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of stumbling into The Chestergate in Stockport town centre, the long-standing boozer currently operated by publican chain Blind Tiger Inns, you’re seriously missing out.
While it might not be the flashiest of pubs, when it comes to entertainment, it always delivers.
Whether it’s stunts like renaming themselves ‘The Southgate’ whenever the Euros or World Cup rolls around, or the locals just genuinely having a whale of a time no matter what day of the week it is, it really sums up the best of pub culture.
The Chestergate went viral for some of the most British footage ever caught on film back in 2022 and the videos saw a huge wave of love and support flooding in for the pub, as well as a healthy amount of chuckles. Safe to say we were chuffed to see them pop back up on our feed again recently.
Karaoke night at The Chestergate literally never disappoints.
Forget ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’ or ‘Champagne Supernova’ for karaoke songs – we’ll take a cacophony of inaudible throwback pop music, whilst another bloke and his hype man try and MC over a totally ill-fitting beat any day of the week.
And that’s handy because you’ll find those kinds of shenanigans happening at this place all the time.
It’s simultaneously one of the most no-nonsense and somehow a non-stop shenanigan-filled paradise. They also look after their own and consider their regulars part of the family. Case and point: they threw their very own ‘Dancing Queen’ Molly a big bash for her 86th birthday and it’s such wholesome viewing.
At this point, it’s worth flagging that we have nothing but envy for these folks and anyone who’s just out there having the time of their lives on any random weeknight.
Yes, it produced plenty of laughs for those watching online in recent times but this lot won’t mind one bit – not only is the pub seeing more and more new faces through the door but that’s the whole point of a pub, isn’t it? Going for a pint with your nearest and dearest and having a laugh.
Not only is it very Manchester but it’s Britain at its very best.
We hope to see you at The Chestergate pub in Stockport for a pint or two sometime soon and we’re making a bit of a prat of ourselves, don’t worry, we’re sure they’ll have the cameras ready for you.
Tailgaters and middle lane hoggers warned to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style
Emily Sergeant
A warning has been issued to tailgaters and motorway middle lane hoggers urging them to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style.
Do you find yourself guilty of two of the biggest driving sins from time to time?
Well, according to the latest figures released by National Highways, one in three motorists have admitted to middle lane hogging in their lives, while one in four have committed acts of tailgating on some of the UK’s fastest roads.
These shocking survey findings – which were released back in early March as the Government-owned road management company launched a new campaign – showed that lane hogging was among the behaviours that are most likely to cause motorists and passengers to feel ‘frustrated’, and tailgating was most likely to cause feelings of unease, stress, and anxiety.
Nearly a third (32%) of drivers admitted to lane hogging ‘at least occasionally’ while driving on England’s motorways and major A roads, according to the survey – which polled 2,500 adults between the ages of 16-75.
On top of this, almost seven in ten adults in England (67%) said close following or tailgating is a ‘serious problem’ on these types of roads, but nearly a quarter (23%) admitted to doing it from time to time.
Tut-tut.
Tailgaters and middle lane hoggers have been warned to change their ‘dangerous’ driving style (Credit: IPTC/Ronald Hudson)
It’s these very statistics which have led National Highways to issue an urgent warning that calls on these motorists to “carefully consider” their driving habits, as “little changes can change everything”.
Lane hogging and tailgating both fall under the offence of ‘careless driving’ in England, with the country’s police forces having the power to hand out on-the-spot fines of £100 and three penalty points to those who commit such offences.
“Middle lane hogging and tailgating are far more than mere annoyances for drivers,” warned RAC road safety spokesperson, Rod Dennis, adding that these actions “put everyone on the roads at risk.”
If you’re too close to the vehicle in front, you’re tailgating. This is very dangerous and could lead to a collision. Always leave at least a two-second gap and make sure you follow the advice from The Highway Code.
He continued in his reaction to the release of the latest National Highways figures: “Closely following another motorist could easily result in a serious collision should the driver ahead need to brake sharply for any reason, so the fact nearly one in four drivers admitted to doing so on some of England’s fastest and busiest roads is frightening”.
Mr Dennis said he understands that offenders “might find these habits hard to kick”, but that’s why the urgent calls for motorists to make changes are “so important”.
“By understanding that how we choose to drive affects others, we can each make a real difference to the safety of our roads,” he concluded.
Emily Sergeant -
24th May 2021 
