After the brutal murder of Craig Tinker on Coronation Street, the actor playing his killer has shared his hopes where viewers’ reactions are concerned.
Mick Michaelis actor Joe Layton issued a plea of sorts to viewers of the ITV soap after the “intense and emotional” scenes played out. He confessed to The Mirror how he hopes that fans tuning in would appreciate and realise that he and Mick are different people, saying: “I’m not Mick.”
Confessing he was expecting to be “hated” for Mick’s actions especially the death of Craig, actor Joe told us he hoped fans remembered that the actions of the villain were not his own, and that Mick is just a character. Following months of terror from Mick towards residents, including him targeting teen Liam Connor and then killing Craig this week, actor Joe admitted: “I don’t know what to expect really.
“He’s clearly not well liked. Part of that is down to the writing and also the way in which Mick interacts with a lot of people who are known to be leaving the show. It kind of feels like Russian roulette, you spin the barrel and who’s gonna get it.
“So not only will they be angry about Craig but there might be a build-up of other things. I don’t think they will be pleased about the stuff that happened with Liam [Connor] but I hope they realise it’s a character and I’m not Mick. I’m sure he will be hated.”
Corrie boss Kate Brooks had told actor Joe all about what would happen when he first took on the role last year, with it confirmed immediately he would only be on the soap for six months. Then came the warning that he would cause the death of Craig, with actor Colson Smith axed after 14 years in the role.
Joe was understandably unsure how Colson would react during their first meeting, with both stars knowing how Mick would end Craig’s life. But Colson was nothing but welcoming to Joe, something Joe praised.
He told us: “I knew when I got the offer through that it was going to involve killing someone, and when I had the zoom with Kate Brooks she said it was gonna be Craig. Then on my first day I arrived in the green room and met Colson, and he said, ‘I think you’re gonna kill me’ and I said, ‘I think I might’.
“Also credit to Colson because everyone at Coronation Street has been really lovely but Colson in particular has been so kind and welcoming to me in what could have been something that, if I put myself in his shoes there’s loads of different things going on for him having been on the soap for so long and it being part of who he is really. That’s credit to Colson really. I knew from Kate when I said yes to the role, she told me what was gonna go down.”
Joe said Mick has “gone beyond the point of no return” ahead of his exit from the show, as he also discussed the “emotional” scenes filmed for this week’s episodes. He said: “Kate Walters our fight director was with us when we shot the scene where Craig is killed.
“Duncan Foster was the episode director and he is such a brilliant director. A lot of it is down to him and the crew creating an atmosphere that is safe and calm and gives both actors space to get into the head spaces they need to go to.
“In terms of the preparation that I do for something like that, and that whole block was incredibly intense and emotional, I get all of my work done early so I’m not sitting in the work on the day. I listen to a lot of music and try to relax. I’m generally quite quiet and I keep myself to myself but that’s facilitated through the crew, the first AD, and Duncan the director understanding the nature of the scenes. Actors are all really different, and amazing directors can get a read on an actor and sense what they need. Duncan did that for me and I was very grateful to him.”
Coronation Street airs Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8pm on ITV1 and ITV X. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
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