Craig Bartholomew Tinker is the son of Beth Sutherland and Darryl Parkins. He is also the cousin of Sinead Tinker.
Biography
2011-2014: Early years on the street
Craig's first appearance was when Beth was contacted after eleven years by Steve McDonald after he was trying to make his wife Becky jealous. Beth brought along Craig to Nick's Bistro where Becky worked, after she was unable to find a babysitter. Beth and Becky rowed and resulted in Beth, Craig and Steve being thrown out of the Bistro.
Beth and Craig moved into 13 Coronation Street which was rented out to them by Steve, and lived with his estranged wife Tracy and her daughter Amy. Craig also brought his pet rat Darryl, who was named after his estranged father, which Tracy didn't like. A few months later, Beth and Craig were evicted by Steve along with Tracy as Steve sold the house to Kevin Webster. They moved into 17a Tile Street but the flat was too dirty and they promptly moved into 9a Rosamund Street above Barlow's Bookies, rented out to them by Leanne Barlow.
During 2013, Craig began acting shifty, especially around Karl Munro. Craig later revealed to Karl that he had spotted him on the night of the fire at the Rovers as Craig was smoking but disposed of the cigarette and believed he had caused the fire and subsequently killed Toni Griffiths and Sunita Alahan (although Karl actually started the fire). Karl began to assure Craig it wasn't his fault, but Craig kept insisting it was him which annoyed Karl, who didn't want Craig revealing what he saw. Craig began bunking off school and keeping to himself and Karl attempted to buy him round by giving him money for a video game. However, when Beth found out and approached Karl about the matter, Karl threatened Craig to keep quiet. Craig later ran away after leaving a note for Beth and Kirk, asking them to apologise to widower Dev. Craig later owned up to Dev and Jason Grimshaw about witnessing Karl at the Rovers the night that Sunita died, and along with Beth they went to the police. Karl was later arrested and sentenced for his part in the Rovers Return fire and the death of Sunita and Toni.
In January 2014 - owing to financial difficulties - Beth, Craig and Kirk moved in with Sinead and her then-boyfriend Chesney Brown at 5 Coronation Street.
2015-: Zero to hero
Craig later began a friendship with Faye Windass and supported her when she was being bullied at school and when her family were experiencing financial hardship following Owen's bankruptcy. Craig befriended Faye's father Tim Metcalfe in January 2015 and started working for him as an apprentice window cleaner. When Faye discovered she was pregnant to classmate Jackson Hodge, Craig reluctantly agreed to keep it a secret from everyone else, however he attempted to convince Faye to tell her mother Anna about her condition.
In August, the extended family went on a camping trip to Wales where they met experienced camper Dougie Ryan. During the search for a mobile phone signal, Craig met a girl who showed him her artwork, but he accidentally offended her by assuming she'd copied someone else's style. She was later introduced by Dougie as his daughter Caitlin. As the week progressed, Craig and Caitlin began to hit it off and ultimately shared their first kiss, which an unimpressed Dougie witnessed. However, after Caitlin spoke candidly to her father about his possessiveness, he backed down and gave them his blessing. As the clan packed up the cars for their return to Weatherfield, the teenagers vowed to text each other every day.
Craig met his biological father Darryl Parkins for the first time ever in September 2016. Darryl was serving a prison sentence at Highfield Prison, and when Craig went to visit him, he told Craig that he was still married to his mother. This made Beth a bigamist; she had married Kirk Sutherland in January 2015, but the legality of the ceremony was put in doubt. Upset that his chance of joining the Special Constabulary was at stake, Craig called the police on his own mother, which caused friction between them, but they eventually made amends.
In 2017, Craig was finally accepted into the police force. When Bethany Platt opened up to him about her rape at the hands of his mentor Neil Clifton, Craig started to question his faith and confronted him. Neil denied it, but Craig tricked him into spilling the details - and recorded the foolish officer's details in secret. Later on, the police informed Craig that his job was at risk because he recorded Neil illegally. Bethany felt guilty but Craig reassured her that she wasn't to blame. Eventually, Beth asked Craig if he loved Bethany, to which he said that he did, but was happy enough being her friend.
Other information
- Craig's hobbies include pottery which is something his granddad had done. This impressed Tracy's mother Deirdre who was a fan of pottery herself.
- Craig doesn't like rap music.
- Craig has struggled with OCD since early-2018. It began when he started obsessing with time during Bethany's trial for assaulting a man at a lap dancing club she was illegally working at. From then on, his OCD began to control his life; flicking switches on and off an even number of times in the belief that he can save everyone.
Background information
- Craig was originally brought in as a short-term character along with his mother Beth for two episodes in August 2011. After Beth proved popular with viewers, she was brought back full-time in December that year, with Craig returning in February 2012 after the pair of them were moved into the street proper.
First and last lines
"Tracy had a go at me because I ate all the cereal." (First line, to mother Beth)
See also