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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Amy Denman & Victoria Johns

Emmerdale's Matty Barton actor teases more family drama after shock Amy proposal

Emmerdale actor Ash Palmisciano teased big drama for his character when he spoke to The Mirror at the TRIC Awards.

Ash, 33, plays Matty Barton, who has just got engaged to Amy Wyatt, played by Natalie Ann Jamieson.

There's been a lot going on following Amy's proposal after the mum-of-one sought custody of her son, Kyle.

But Ash reckons there's more to come as wedding bells could be soon be chiming in the Dales.

Speaking to The Mirror, he said: "We've got some really exciting stuff coming up because it's actually coming up to what we call Super Soap Week.

Emmerdale's Ash Palmisciano, who plays Matty Barton, spoke to us at the TRIC Awards (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)
He's played Matty Barton for five years (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

"We usually do something quite big for it but my boss is over there and if I say I will be killed so, unfortunately, I can't."

Ash added: "In terms of characters, my character, Matty, he's just got engaged to his girlfriend Amy so we're hoping there's a wedding around the corner. We know there's some family drama coming up as always but, apart from that, I can't see too much."

The actor was delighted to be presented with the Soap of the Year gong for Emmerdale at the TRIC Awards, alongside co-stars, including Jeff Hordley and Olivia Bromley.

He has played Matty for nearly five years in the soap, featuring in numerous storylines since 2018.

Matty is Emmerdale's first transgender character and Ash is said to have been the first transgender cast member.

Emmerdale won the Soap of the Year award (David Fisher/REX/Shutterstock)

Earlier in his career, he appeared in an episode of Boy Meets Girl and worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company, but his big break came in 2018 with Emmerdale.

Ash - who was assigned female at birth, but decided he wanted to transition in 2012 - didn't initially audition for a role on the soap, but was part of a workshop for the production.

He has previously revealed he landed the role of Matty after being invited to act as a consultant for Emmerdale about a trans character and later ended up auditioning.

Ash originally joined the soap with a three month contract, but his character soon became a fan favourite and five years later, Matty is still in the village.

The actor has described the role as a "dream come true" after praising Emmerdale for raising trans awareness, adding he's become the person he "needed to see when [he] was younger."

He shared: "[I hope it's helped in] normalising what it means to be trans. Matty is a very ordinary guy, who happens to be trans, and in the storyline, there is a lot more to him".

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