It's almost been a year since Coronation Street star Colson Smith wowed and impressed his fans as he opened up about his fitness journey. The actor, best known for playing Craig Tinker in the ITV soap, previously said he weighed 140kg before he discovered a love for running.
Last year he documented his battles with weight as part of his own film 'Bored Of Being The Fat Kid’, which was released on YouTube, and back in January Colson, who has never revealed the amount of weight he has lost but is reported to be 10 stone, celebrated a personal achievement as he told fans he had been a runner for two years.
The 22-year-old regularly documents his runs and gym visits on social media so his latest Instagram post was no different as he was joked he was back 'on the pull' back up north - and he meant quite literally.
Colson shared a snap of himself in the gym with his thousands of followers, working up a sweat on the rowing machine. It comes after he has spent time in London preparing for a show that couldn't be more different to Corrie as he's among the stars signed up to Holly Willoughby and Freddie Flintoff's new ITV programme, new live series, The Games.
"Back in the North & on the pull…" he shared alongside his trio of rowing machine snaps. But he then headed to the comments to clarify: "I’d you don’t like the caption blame @ellielouiseleach," aka his co-star who plays on-screen girlfriend Faye Windass.
He also posted to his Instagram Story an action video reshared from his personal trained. Set the backdrop of Eminem's track Without Me, Colson said: "Reunited with @stanvaccarl_PT and his methods after 2 weeks of diving in a pool in London."
That's because The Games see the group of famous faces having to step out of their comfort zones to be coached, trained and then compete, hoping to be crowned top of the medals table and will air this spring.
Hosted live by This Morning and Dancing On Ice host Holly and former cricketer turned Top Gear host Freddie, The Games will also see former professional footballer and presenter Alex Scott as a trackside reporter and former professional football player and presenter Chris Kamara as a commentator.
But fans were soon commenting on Colson's latest post as they continue to be impressed by his transformation.
@kathryn568 commented: "It’s amazing how you’ve overhauled your lifestyle and the results you have achieved are fantastic - great achievement."
"I can’t believe you’re the same person, you’ve made such an incredible change. Now the Corrie writers just need to write in a line or two where other characters acknowledge the change in Craig. It’s like nobody’s noticed on the street… are they blind?!" lizzislookbook said.
@kerryswwjourney wrote: "@colsonjsmith you are such an inspiration. I wish I had your will power. You look amazing."
"Well done mate. Sure there’s plenty out there seeing your story and have been motivated by it," @jamieoccasionally added.
Last month, speaking on the Sofa Cinema Club podcast he hosts alongside Corrie co-stars Jack P. Shepherd and Ben Price, Colson said of his next gig: "It's [The Games] going to open up new doors for me and new opportunities.
"I love acting but the other thing I love is presenting. The podcast allows me to do both, and this show [The Games] might open up a door for me. When ITV buys the rights for the Olympics I'll be, 'Hello and welcome to the Olympics, it's me, previous Olympian, Colson Smith.'"
Colson also addressed why he has chosen to take on the physical challenge now after shedding a lot of weight. "I'm doing this because obviously two years ago I was a very different person, and now, weirdly, my hobbies are fitness," he said on the podcast. I generally enjoy keeping fit and challenging myself. And this is a challenge, it's a way to keep fit.
"There's a part of me in my head where I have always had limitations on myself and always believed I couldn't do certain stuff, and I've kind of proved bits of that wrong over the past two years. So I guess taking this on is another understanding of the fact that there aren't any limitations to what I can do. I can keep progressing."
