Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) has been living on a knife edge since entering prison in Emmerdale, desperately trying to conceal the fact that he is trans. If the truth gets out, his life will certainly be in danger.
Lucky for him he’s made friends with cellmate Les, who knows his secret and so far, has helped keep his bully Robbie at bay. But things are set to take a dramatic and deadly turn when Amy Wyatt (Natalie Ann Jamieson) unwittingly makes a grave error.
Having been in a dark place lately – even missing Amy’s 30th birthday as he didn’t want her visiting the prison on her special day – Matty is finally allowing himself to see the light.
His pal Les is doing wonders for his confidence, especially as Les accepts that he is a trans man.
Matty is pleased to let Amy know of this development, and in return she’s even more happy to relay that they have a new solicitor who seems to be on it. Things are looking up – Matty might actually be home soon.
As soon as that thought enters his head, he’s hit with the jinx. Amy watches Matty leave looking happier, when Robbo approaches her.
She mistakes him for Les, and as Robbo manipulates her, she tells him Matty’s biggest secret. Amy leaves feeling pleased with herself, no idea what she’s just done.
‘He’s done very well. He’s at a point where, because he’s used to following suit and he’s used to surviving and he’s use to challenges he’s got to a place where he’s got his anxiety in check, he’s figuring out how to do things in there, how to survive and cope’, Ash Palmisciano explained.
‘He’s got this amazing cell mate that is teaching him the way a little bit, giving him some tips here and there. There’s some really nasty characters about but he’s got the friend protecting him. Then Amy reveals to Robbo, who is a very nasty transphobic horrible guy that Matty’s trans. It’s the worst possible thing that could have happened to Matty he just thought he was on the cusp of getting a hold of it and surviving and he was going to be all right and now he’s been outed by his wife, which is unbelievable.
‘Matty thinks at first there’s absolutely no way that she would tell him on purpose so what has he done to her? So he’s quite protective of her at first. Also, when you’re in a cell you have a lot of time in your head and the only thing you can do is think. I think he’s going round and round and round about why this has happened and what’s going to happen next.’
Armed with this knowledge, Robbo heads straight to Matty’s cell, who’s all alone as Les has left for a meeting with his solicitor.
Robbo pushes his way into the cell and the blood drains from Matty’s face as he realises Robbo knows. Robbo traps Matty and Matty braces himself for what he’s about to endure.
Is Amy about to get the worst phone call of her life?
‘They have this conversation where Robbo makes it obvious that he knows who Matty is, without saying it’, Ash said.
‘The penny drops within Matty – how has this got out? What’s happening now and what is about to happen? The actor playing Robbo is called John and he played such a menacing stillness that it was all about the tension, it was all about the build-up of what’s he going to do with this information, what’s he going to do next? And it could have been anything.’
He added: ‘One week you get married, the next week you’re in prison! I hope that after this it actually gives Matty a resilience that perhaps we haven’t seen yet. I hope it gives him a strength that makes him stand out a little bit. I hope it makes him really value what’s important and that’s love and the people you’ve got around you.
‘He just got married and they were hoping to move in together. I’d love it one day if they would start a family together – I think that would be a really beautiful story to do. And hopefully it gives Matty a new direction, really, and a freedom he probably didn’t even realise he needed. Hopefully he’ll go off now into the Emmerdale world as himself and really be proud of that.’
