Known for playing the loveable Craig Tinker in Coronation Street, Colson Smith has been putting his sporting skills to the test in ITV’s brand new show The Games. After debuting on Monday night, Tuesday’s episode really endeared the soap star to viewers.
The first event of the night was the men’s 50m freestyle in the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre swimming pool. While all eyes were on the likes of Max George and Wes Nelson at the front, it was actually Colson who stole the heart of the nation.
The Cobbles favourite explained how he has pushed himself to the limit in preparation for Holly Willoughby's new show. In the VT prior to the event, Colson revealed how until recently he hadn’t been able to swim.
Read more: ITV The Games viewers switch off after ‘boring’ opening night
However, in order to compete on The Games, Colson had to teach himself how to swim, completing this objective just five weeks before ultimately swimming in front of millions. While the crowd were cheering on all the competitors from home, perhaps the largest cheer of the event was reserved for Colson when he touched the wall to complete his swim - not too far behind his far more experienced counterparts.
Colson came home with a time of 47.71 seconds, just under 15 seconds behind winner Nelson. Upon being interviewed by reporter Alex Scott, Colson was visibly delighted, declaring how this time was about 10 seconds faster than his previous personal best.
Colson exclaimed: “I’m buzzing. I must be one of the happiest people to come last in an event. For me that’s massive, it’s 10 seconds quicker than what I did in the last training!”
Back in the studio, comedian Yung Filly added his praise for the rookie swimmer: “My winner today was Colson, he got 47.71!” Viewers were equally impressed by his performance, with many taking to Twitter to congratulate the actor.
Georgia Taylor (@RealGeorgiaT) said, “@colsonsmith you’re my hero #TheGames”, while Cat (@Splatcat86) posted, “YES! @colsonsmith you absolutely smashed that swim, congratulations to you! You should be incredibly proud of yourself! #TheGames”
Emma (@EmLou24) said: “@colsonsmith what a star!! Definitely a winner in the swimming race when 5 weeks ago he couldn't swim and now he's just smashed his PB! His smile at the end just summed it up #TheGames”
Helen Newstead (@helennews30) concurred. “Loses 10 stone, learns to swim 5 weeks ago..smashes it in 47 seconds #TheGames #underdog.”
