Emmerdale's Ash Palmisciano joined the soap as the first trans actor to play a trans character and Matty Barton has been a huge hit with viewers even though he's now behind bars
When Ash Palmisciano was first offered the role of Matty Barton, he knew he would be making history. But as the first transgender actor to take on a trans character on Emmerdale , there was a lot for him to weigh up - luckily seven years on, Ash has no regrets.
Up until this point, Matty was living the dream life and was looking forward to a future with his new wife, Amy. But disaster struck during an incident at the HOP when Matty accidentally stabbed Samson - and he’s now in jail on remand. “Sadly being trans in the world makes you vulnerable, let alone when you’re in prison - it’s not the best mix,” says Ash. “We had consultants on the storyline and they said that the last thing you want to do is make yourself a target - you want to keep your head down and fit in. So Matty decides to keep his trans identity to himself.
“Cain is a natural born survivor, he’s been in prison before,” explains Ash. “So he tells Matty to toughen up. Matty realises that maybe he’ll start having to do stuff he’s not proud of.”“Soap is so fast-paced,” laughs Ash. “I love it! I’m ticking all the soap boxes, marriage, now prison - it’s everything you could want. We see a different side to Matty after the arrest, it shows his vulnerability in the world. It’s been great to do a more gritty story.
"My mum would watch it every night and tell me what was going on, she was so proud. So are my dad, and my sister. We’ve been through so much as a family anyway so it’s always been ‘what next?’”.
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