Who plays Moira Barton’s son Matty on Emmerdale and what else has transgender star Ash Palmisciano been in?

EMMERDALE has cast the soap's first transgender character, Matty Barton.

But what do we know about the actor Ash Palmisciano who plays him? Here is the lowdown...

Who plays Moira's son Matty on Emmerdale?

New character Matty Barton is being played by transgender actor Ash Palmisciano.

Matty is Moira Barton's child, who used to be a girl named Hannah.

When he returned to Butler's Farm, Cain mistook him for an intruder and punched him.

Moira instantly recognised him but struggled to accept his new appearance and criticised him for missing his sister Holly's funeral.

She said: "My Hannah was sweet and kind and she would have been there for her family in our year from hell but you abandoned us, you abandoned me.

"Now I can't even recognise my own child anymore so go, it's not like you want to be here."

What else has Ash Palmisciano been in?

Ash has previously starred in Boy Meets Girl, where he played Alex.

He also played the role of Andrew in Mum.

Last year, the actor played Jack in the theatre production of Summer in London at Theatre Royal Stratford East.

What has Ash Palmisciano said about joining Emmerdale?

Ash said of his new Emmerdale role: "I’m very excited to be joining the very welcoming Emmerdale family.

"From nervous auditions to now working alongside the team daily has been truly amazing.

"Matty’s a ground breaking character to play and I can’t wait to see what’s ahead for him."

He also wrote on Instagram: "I've been a peasant, an elf, flipping king lears tree ;) and now I'm chuffed to finally announce to me mates I'm now matty barton... the newest addition to the lovely Emmerdale family :) #emmerdale #mattybarton #actor."