Fans of the ITV soap issued a warning over the upcoming departure of Craig Tinker from Weatherfield

Coronation Street fans have issued a warning over the upcoming departure of Craig Tinker from Weatherfield as they spotted a ‘missed opportunity’ to keep him on the street.

Fans of the ITV soap will be aware that actor Colson Smith recently confirmed his character is being written out of the show early this year. He made the announcement on social media on Monday (January 6), explaining that soap chiefs had decided it was the end of the road for Craig.

His exit is seemingly set for early in 2025, potentially leaving him short of marking 14 years in the role this summer. Alongside a picture of himself portraying Craig as a police officer,Colson announced: “Autumn last year I was told that Craig Tinker’s time on the Cobbles is to come to end in 2025.

“I’ve loved every single second of my 14 year stay as a resident on the greatest street in the world. I feel incredibly lucky to have grown up in, on and around Coronation Street. I’ve learned pretty much everything about life from the people who call it home. I’m excited to play out the exit story for Our Craigy.”

The 26-year-old added: “For Me, this is just the end of the beginning. I genuinely can’t wait to see what chapter 2 has in store for me. LONG LIVE THE COBBLES!”

It was then on Wednesday (July 8), Colson spoke about his exit alongside Corrie actors Jack P Shepherd and Ben Price during the latest episode of their podcast, On the Sofa with Colson, Jack, and Ben.

Towards the end of their chat, Colson shared that he is “going to live life, just differently” after the show. The future for the soap star may be unconfirmed in the acting world, but when Ben asked what’s next for him, he responded: “My love now is presenting, I want to be a presenter. I love everything about TV. I’m in a position where I have a lot of potential opportunities and I want to explore all of them.”

A clip of what he said has since been shared on the On the Sofa podcast’s Instagram page and fans have been quick to respond to the news of Colson’s upcoming exit and made it clear that they don’t want it to be a definite end of Craig’s time in Weatherfield.

@papillon_parade said: “Well miss you PC Tinks.” @777flash777 commented: “Going miss you on the show. It’s unfortunate the writers and producers haven’t given you more to do recently.” @mccurdyjeanette shared: “Missed opportunity for the writers! The Craig character has so much potential. Colson, you will be missed. Hopefully, they bring PC Tinks back in a huge storyline that no one sees coming!”

@di.56flet warned: “Better not kill you off and you can return. Best of luck.” @joy_clarke_e_ posted: “All the best @colsonjsmith hope the door will be left open for Mr Craig Tinker.” @glenmichele added: “I wish they would have wrote a story to keep you. Honestly so many good characters leaving the street. You’ll be missed Colson, but I hope to see you on something else soon.”