It’s been a tragic week in Coronation Street this week, as Craig was struck by Mick Michaelis in Monday’s episode. Sadly, he died in hospital tonight (Wednesday, May 21).
The copper was keen to prove himself to Kit, who was in no way interested in mentoring Craig for his CID training.
Sadly, Kit’s disinterest and Craig’s desire to prove himself led to a one-on-one showdown between PC Tinker and violent Mick.
Mick’s abusive ways revealed ahead of attack
Over the last week, Mick’s anger has been steadily increasing.
After learning that his son, Brody, might actually be Kit Green’s biological child, fans saw the true abusive nature of Mick, when he took his anger out on wife, Lou.
A disturbance was reported to the police, and it seemed like it wasn’t the first time there’d been such an incident at the Michaelis residence.
Tonight, it became clear, with Lou planning on running away with her children, that this wasn’t the first time Mick had harmed her.
Her oldest daughter, Joanie, asked if they were going ‘back’ to a shelter. Later, Lou informed Tim that she’d know the women’s refuge centre when she saw it.
At the hospital, a nurse saw that her arms were covered in bruises.
Lou admitted that Mick would never harm her daughters, confirming the abuse she’s been facing.
Mick’s violent nature clearly isn’t new, but Monday night saw it reach new heights…
Craig takes the brunt of Mick’s anger
Craig, who had been called to the disturbance at the Michaelis property, was on high alert when he saw Mick speeding off in his van.
Unfortunately for PC Tinker, upon following the dodgy builder to the precinct, he took the brunt of his anger in a horrific way.
As he was about to arrest Mick, he grabbed a bat from his van, and hit Craig in the face with force.
Though Mick panicked and tried to wake him up, he soon fled the scene, realising he’d hit him too hard.
Monday (May 19) ended on Craig lying lifeless as Mick sped away from the scene of the crime.
Opinion: Coronation Street’s Craig deserved better
That final scene was incredibly poignant, and it was wonderful to see a character like Craig get such a massive send off. However, after 14 years, killing him in such a way was brutal.
Tonight, we saw Craig in hospital, struggling to answer questions when asked for a statement about the attack.
As Kirk and Maria arrived to visit Craig, his brain started to swell.
Tragically, CPR was unsuccessful, and his time of death was declared.
After more than a decade on the cobbles, it was nice to see Craig’s exit be the main focus of both Monday and Wednesday’s visit to Weatherfield… But, killing him off did feel unnecessary.
His death comes two years after ex-girlfriend Faye moved to Slough, and just 9 months after mum, Beth, moved to Norfolk.
If it was really time up for Craig on the Street, could he not have moved to be with one of them? Craig deserved to live a happy life away from the cobbles. Chance of a bright future ahead of him was robbed just like that. Absolutely tragic.
Fans are devastated by Craig’s sad death in Coronation Street
On social media, Coronation Street fans have now expressed their sadness over Craig’s tragic demise.
One fan said: “Aw Craig didn’t deserve this. Love his character. Please don’t kill him off. Should just leave Corrie open for him, so he has the choice to come back.”
Another added: “You should never have gotten rid of Colson. He was such a brilliant actor. You really didn’t need to kill him off. Big mistake Corrie.”
A third chimed in: “Appalling way for this character to leave.”
Colson Smith praises exit scenes
Although fans hoped that Craig might get something of a happy ending, the actor seems to disagree. When speaking about his departure, Colson Smith said: “It is exactly the exit I wanted for him and we are all really proud of what we filmed in those final weeks.”
It would have been nice to see Craig have a happy ending. Perhaps he could have moved away to start a CID career elsewhere.
However, with Daisy and Eileen both leaving of their own volition, it was inevitable that one of the big exits would be a tragic one.
Hopefully, some good can come out of this tragedy. Fans are hoping for comeuppance for both Mick and Kit, and for Lou to be freed from the constraints of an abusive marriage.
It certainly would have been better to see Craig leave in the back of a taxi instead of in a body bag. However, his 14 year stint on the cobbles certainly won’t be forgotten.
Read more: Coronation Street fans ‘shocked’ as they work out where Debbie really lives
Coronation Street usually airs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 8pm on ITV.
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