Matty is the victim of a brutal hate crime in Emmerdale
"It's gritty and full-on," warns Ash Palmisciano
Emmerdale's Matty Barton (Ash Palmasciano) is the victim of a violent hate crime at a New Year's Eve party on Monday 31 December when he is attacked in the street by a face from his past, bringing up painful memories for the character before they transitioned.
"In Matty's former life when he was Hannah, he had a little dalliance with a guy called Isaac," says Palmisciano. "They dated at a stage when Hannah was trying to find who she was, and thought if she went with a boy it might sort her head out and stop her thinking about everything.
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"On New Year's Eve there's a party in the village and Isaac and his friends are there. Straight away, Matty wonders how this is going to go - a boyfriend from the past seeing Hannah as Matty. Isaac doesn't take it too well at all."
After enduring a tirade of nasty, humiliating verbal comments about Matty's trans status, the abuse turns physical when embarrassed and fired-up Isaac and his cronies corner the Barton boy outside the cafe on Main Street and beat him up, ripping at his clothes and leaving him shaken and vulnerable.
"Matty tries to calm the situation down, despite this guy labelling him a freak in front of everyone, and leaves a bit upset, but it gets nasty when he bumps into Isaac again outside. Stripping Matty and taking his top off is the worst thing they can do, he is so embarrassed of his body, is desperate for reassignment surgery and is trying his best to fit back into the village as himself.
"Ripping off the clothes reveals the compression vest he wears, called a binder, and they taunt him for still being a woman. That knocks Matty's head for a long time, it really disturbs him. He runs off and afterwards won't talk about it."
How does Cain get involved in Matty's attack storyline?
Stepdad Cain Dingle tries to get through to Matty and encourages him to open up to mum Moira, and accidentally ends up telling her himself. Later this week, Cain then seeks revenge himself on Isaac and his gang, only to be gripped by haunting memories of the attack on Joe Tate that causes the Dingle hard man to freeze and take a beating from the lads that leaves him severely injured - physically and emotionally.
"Matty's attack scene was fantastic to film from an actor's perspective because it was really gritty and full on," comments Palmasciano. "It was really important to play too as it shows how uncomfortable it is for someone like Matty who is trying to hard to transition to have to face people that don't understand and want to label it as an oddity."
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