CORONATION Street’s Lucy Fallon was forced to reassure fans that her co-star was very much alive after an ‘RIP’ tribute picture sparked concern online.
The Bethany Platt actress shared a photo of her former soap pal Colson Smith on her Instagram Stories, ten months after his character’s tragic on-screen death.
Colson played fan-favourite Craig Tinker on the ITV soap for 14 years, before being axed by show bosses last year.
His character met a grisly end at the hands of soap villain Mick Michaelis (Joe Layton) who repeatedly beat Craig with a baseball bat and left him for dead when the training PC tried to arrest him for drunk driving.
Craig’s death – which aired in May last year – proved to be a heartbreaking one for both fans and his Weatherfield family.
Lucy is one co-star who clearly still isn’t over the on-screen tragedy as she shared a new tribute to Colson on her Instagram Stories.
The 30-year-old posted a snap of several behind-the-scenes cast photos, among them one of her sat in the Cobble’s famous boozer with a laughing Colson.
“Saw you in the Rovers today friend @colsonjsmith rip x,” read Lucy’s caption.
However, Lucy’s post prompted some concern from fans as some believed she was saying ‘Rest in Peace’ to Colson himself.
In a follow-up story, the soap star was forced to set the record straight.
“Disclaimer – craig died, not colson x,” she wrote in her story caption, alongside a message exchange between her and Colson.
The screenshot showed Lucy’s messages to Colson, which began with: “I’ve accidentally told people you’ve died.
“But I didn’t mean you, I meant Craig.”
Colson’s departure from the soap was marked with a wild, booze-fuelled leaving bash last May, with Lucy Fallon one co-star in attendance.
The police themed party paid homage to his character PC Tinker and featured fancy dress, balloons and police tape at the tapas bar and restaurant El Gato Negro Tapas in Manchester.
Other Corrie stars in attendance included Andy Whyment, Brooke Vincent, Georgia Taylor, Jacobs Roberts, Tony Maudsley and Sam Aston.
Since leaving the Cobbles behind, the soap actor has swapped TV for radio joining BBC Radio Leeds as a presenter last summer.
He’s also appeared in an episode of Celebrity Mastermind.
Colson joined the cast of Coronation Street in 2011, when he was just 13-years-old.
Over the years, viewers have seen him at the centre of various hard-hitting storylines.
From being bullied as a schoolboy to becoming a policeman and battling OCD.
But the 26-year-old was sadly axed when bosses decided to get rid of his character Craig Tinker.
Colson was one of a number of stars to have been given the boot over the past few months with co-stars Luca Toolan (Mason Radcliffe) and Sue Devaney (Debbie Webster) having also been written out by bosses.
Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw) and Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley) also opted to quit the programme following the high-profile exit of Helen Worth as Gail Platt after 50 years.
