Trans actor is UK pioneer for voice-change op
A TRANSGENDER actress who fears she is losing work because of her deep voice is set to have groundbreaking surgery to sound more feminine.
Fashion model Nicole Gibson, whose TV roles include appearances on the BBC series Silent Witness, underwent a series of operations almost a decade ago as part of the process of transitioning from man to woman.
But the 39- year- old is opting for one final procedure due to concerns that she is missing out on television roles because of the way that her voice sounds.
Ms Gibson will next month become one of the first trans people in the UK to have the lining at the front of the vocal cords removed by laser. The one-hour keyhole surgery leads to a shortening of the vibrating section of the cords and raises pitch. She will not be able to speak for a week after the treatment and must avoid laughter, coughing or sneezing for four weeks before undergoing post-operative speech therapy.
Speaking about auditioning to play a mother with a new-born baby in EastEnders, she told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The moment I spoke, my confidence plummeted. I did not get the part.
‘ My voice holds me back for parts I want to play.
‘The sound that comes out of my mouth is not what I hear in my head. When I want to play a woman, my voice lets me down.
‘ I know sometimes you watch television and think every diversity box is ticked, but I don’t want to be a tick in the box. I don’t want to just play trans roles.’
Ms Gibson, who regularly appears on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to discuss gender politics, said she hopes the operation will also give her confidence in her personal life, adding: ‘For so many trans women it’s all about the lower body and breast surgery.
‘That is easy to hide or fake, but you can’t hide sounding like Brian Blessed. I just know the operation is going to be life-changing. I really do.’
The £5,000 procedure will be performed by consultant surgeon Chadwan Al Yaghchi, an ear, nose and throat consultant at London’s Charing Cross Hospital and the Imperial College NHS Trust.
He said: ‘ Nicole will have voice feminisation surgery. As a transgender person you want the voice to match who you are. You need a voice that matches your gender identity and not to have to worry that when you start speaking people will find out you are transgender.’
Ms Gibson, originally from Horsham in West Sussex, has previously been targeted by hardline elements in the trans lobby for questioning claims that there is such a thing as multiple ‘ gender identities’. Last year, she said: ‘ The militants are ramming it down everyone’s throats. People turn on the TV and see someone from the trans community having a moan and isolating themselves further from society.
‘They think they are making this apparently “awful” world we live in better for us.
‘But I don’t necessarily think they’re going about it the right way. I want to tell them, “Please put a smile on your face and be likeable.”
‘I’d rather be relatable to people so that if a child comes to a parent seeking advice, they won’t only know about the angry, militant trans person the parent has seen on TV.’