One of the most recognisable faces on the country's longest running soap opera is about to head into the Celebrity Big Brother house.
Colson Smith is known across the country for starring as Craig Tinker in ITV's Coronation Street; a role he's played since 2011.
Originally a child actor on the famous cobbles, the now 25-year-old will be swapping one ITV set for another as CBB makes its first showing on the same channel after a history of being broadcast on Channel 4 and then Channel 5.
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With Celebrity Big Brother set to air tonight (4 March), Smith is expected to star alongside Strictly Come Dancing's Nikita Kuzmin, Ibiza Weekender star David Potts, Heartstopper's Bradley Riches, Zeze Millz, Marisha Wallace, Fern Britton, Louis Walsh, Lauren Simon, Gary Goldsmith, Ekin-Su Cülcüloğlu, Levi Roots, and Sharon Osbourne
But it is away from television that Smith has arguable had his greatest achievement, after losing 10 stone in an inspiring weight loss transformation that has left him unrecognisable to some.
The actor admitted to struggling to find clothes that fit him well; something that saw him focus on having eccentric footwear so in his head people weren't looking at his body and he couldn't feel embarrassed as show sizes are universal regardless of someone being under or overweight.
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He told the Sofa Club podcast: "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's said himself that it was during the first Covid-19 lockdown that he started to first take his weight loss journey seriously, using social media - as we all did when stuck in our homes 24/7 - to share updates on where he was at.
And the key for Smith was not dieting but instead changing his life in every way he thought was possible.
At the core of his physical change was a passion for running. He said: "I don’t know how long it took me to decide that I was now a runner.
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"Every run until at least May was for the benefit of losing weight, but then something clicked and it wasn’t about that any more.
"I became more interested in what running actually was."
His journey even saw him vreate his own YouTube documentary called Bored of Being the Fat Kid.
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Key to his lifestyle change was combining running with a strict meal prep plan created for him by life roach Rob Brennan.
It means his food is prepped for him in advance and is specific to his physical needs, reducing the urge to say you've run out of time to cook and order a takeaway instead. We've all been there.
Smith previously told ITV's Lorraine: "We worked through everything I could do to make it as easy as possible. So I have my breakfast and lunches delivered, and they’re still being delivered now, which means cooking I don't have to think about, I can just eat."
He said: "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.
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"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."
Smith is now set to run the The Great Bruges Half in Belgium, with his Instagram feed full of positive content on how much running has changed both his mind and body.
To keep his physique as it is, Smith is known to also combine running with weight training and using the rowing machine.
On appearing in CBB, a source told The Sun: "Big Brother producers have been in talks with Colson for months and it looks like a done deal.
"They're thrilled he's keen to enter the nation's most famous house because he's a big name already loved by millions of viewers and they were hellbent on securing someone from Corrie as it's great cross-promotion for ITV.
"Colson's character Craig is a huge favourite with soap fans and he's just as likeable and down to earth in real life so don't be surprised if he ends up winning the whole thing."
An ITV spokesperson previously told LADbible: “Any names are at this point pure speculation and viewers will have to tune in to see who will be entering the Celebrity Big Brother house.”
Topics: Celebrity, Celebrity Big Brother, Big Brother, ITV, UK News
Tom Earnshaw