Coronation Street star addresses Jack P Shepherd's health issue sparked by CBB (2025)

Colson Smith has been sharing his thoughts about Celebrity Big Brother on his podcast, which he co-hosts with Ben Price and Jack P Shepherd, who is currently living in the ITV show's famous house

This week, former 'Coronation Street' star Colson Smith has been delving into the topic of Jack P Shepherd's digestive health. The man famous for portraying Weatherfield's very own David Platt has successfully dodged his second elimination threat on 'Celebrity Big Brother'.

During a chat on the podcast 'On The Sofa With Colson, Jack and Ben', Colson, who played Craig Tinker in the popular soap, let slip that Jack had initially been too apprehensive to use the bathroom upon entering the Big Brother house.

Chatting with Corrie's Ben Price, Colson speculated on whether his former colleague had managed to conquer his awkward case of anxious constipation.

Ben Price, the podcast's third Corrie stalwart, confidently declared that by this stage, Jack "must have" overcome his bowel woes, asserting, "or he'd be in hospital".

With the stars having been in the Big Brother house for over a week, Ben was strongly of the opinion that Jack would surely have taken care of business by now.

Colson concurred with Ben's view, humorously suggesting that the stress of an eviction nomination "must have loosened [Jack] up".

The conversation, while light-hearted, touched upon a genuinely concerning issue – anxiety-induced bathroom problems are a reality for many, as stress hormones often put a brake on one's digestive mechanics. Additionally, people struggling with stress might find themselves engaging in less physical activity and making poor food and drink choices compared to their typical behaviour.

As far as essential shopping is concerned in the Big Brother house, Ben's focus was clear – ensuring the presence of loo roll and "decent coffee".

"I couldn't do instant coffee, " he admitted. "That would really upset me."

Colson revealed that when he was in CBB, his top priority during the weekly shop planning was always bagels – but Fern Britton would invariably eat them before he had a chance to enjoy one.

Colson, who secured third place in last year's series, acknowledged that grocery supplies were always scarce during his time in the house.

He explained that the budget could be extremely tight, depending on the results of tasks set by producers. "We got £1,200, when we won the luxury, which was £100 a person, but we only got £400 for the economy shopping," Colson recalled.

Before being permitted to join the 2024 series, Colson says that he was assigned a "chaperone" named Scott, whose daunting task was to meticulously inspect all his bags for any hidden "contraband".

"Scott had the worst task in the world," he confessed, detailing every single item of clothing in the bag "in case anything went missing."

A few items were confiscated from Colson's bag prior to his entry into the house. "Scott took four items off me," he shared.

Colson conceded that he's "funny about his hair" and is very particular about the hats he wears. However, the producers wouldn't allow him to keep his favourite baseball cap as it bore a brand name.

He expressed his disappointment over this: "I was already like 'F***, this is a nightmare because I'm going to have to go on TV with s*** hair.'"

"They got rid of a couple of tops that all had branding on, then we repacked."

Despite Scott approving Colson's clothing originally, a second inspection resulted in further losses: "At one point I nearly lost all my socks."

Ultimately, the production team had to provide him with new unbranded workout clothes from Primark because he was left with "nothing".

Colson admitted that while he hadn't explicitly recommended Jack for this year's programme, his own involvement might have been persuasive.

Speaking to Ranvir Singh on Good Morning Britain, he said: "Jack obviously had come down to watch me in it last year and had shown interest. It's like living in a sound stage, if you're in the industry, it's such an interesting thing to do!".

Before joining the show, Jack expressed he'd likely be an 'easy housemate', stating: "I have a strength for cleaning - I like to clean. I'll make cups of tea. I'll wash up. I'm not the best cook but I can cook. And I'm very quiet if I need to be."