Soap star Colson Smith has said he “will always miss” Coronation Street, but that he is “excited” to start a new chapter in his life.

In January, the actor, 26, revealed in a social media post that his time playing Craig Tinker on the British programme would be coming to an end.

“I’ve been gone three weeks now, I’ll always feel emotional”, he told ITV’s Good Morning Britain (GMB) on Wednesday.

“I will always miss the place. It was my home. It was my family.

“Those people, they helped me grow up.

“It’s very different having done something for 14 years to now know that you’re not doing it anymore, and I’m excited to go out and have some fun.

“I’m excited, It feels like a new chapter of my life starting.”

Smith also revealed that his last scenes as Craig should be airing in “May time” and said he is “not talking to anyone” at the moment as he does not want to “spoil” his departure.

Smith was 12-years-old when he joined the soap and his memorable storylines have included him joining the police force and struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

In March he posted a “leaving doo dump” on his Instagram page and was pictured alongside fellow Coronation Street stars including Sam Aston and Tony Maudsley.

He is among a number of actors, including Sue Cleaver (Eileen Grimshaw) and Charlotte Jordan (Daisy Midgeley), who announced their exit from the soap earlier in the year.

The actor placed third on ITV’s rebooted Celebrity Big Brother series last year and reflected on this year’s line-up, which includes Coronation Street actor Jack P Shepherd, whom he co-hosts a podcast with.

He told GMB: “I’ve given him plenty of advice to be fair, the main one was to go in and enjoy yourself, because you only get to do a show like this once, so go and make the most of it.

“I did tell him to make sure he gets a bed, but he was the last into the bedroom last night so I don’t think he’s even listening.”