On the box
Former Hollyoaks star Emmett J Scanlan tells us about playing the dad of a transgender child in ITV drama Butter y…
Emmett J Scanlan and Anna Friel star as estranged couple Stephen and Vicky, whose young son Max identifies as a girl and wants to become Maxine. Stephen can’t cope and doesn’t understand why his son likes dressing up and behaving like a girl and he’s moved out of the family home.
‘Stephen hopes that Max will grow out of it,’ explains Emmett. ‘He believes his son
needs a role model,
so he tries to spend time with him doing “manly” things like football to try and get rid of these feelings. It isn’t until he finds out how unhappy his son is that he realises that it isn’t just a phase.’ Before filming this threepart drama, Emmett and Anna visited Mermaids, a charity which offers support to transgender children as well as their families. ‘Anna and I were given the opportunity to go to Mermaids, which supports
transgender children. It was absolutely incredible meeting these brave, remarkable parents and their children. What shocked me was how young these kids were and the stuff they had to go through. Three quarters of the transgender community self harm and nearly half of them attempt suicide. It’s a horrific statistic.’
‘Butterfly has been one of the most difficult and most challenging things that I’ve
‘I hope it sparks debate’
ever done, but also one of the most rewarding and important to date. It is an extraordinary show and I hope it will spark debate and raise awareness about a subject that most of us don’t know much about.’ ● Butterfly is on ITV