Ash Palmisciano
“Matty is insecure, and still finding himself”
It’s always a good soap shock when a parent comes face to face with an estranged son or daughter after years apart. However, Emmerdale’s
Moira is about to get the mother of all surprises this week, when she’s reunited with her daughter Hannah – only to find that her little girl is now her son, Matty! Will she accept her boy with open arms, or are there choppy waters ahead? Actor Ash Palmisciano, who plays Matty, warns us that it won’t be smooth sailing…
Matty’s return gets off to a bad start – as the first thing that happens is that Cain punches him out!
Yeah, what an entrance! Matty comes back to the village to get his birth certificate. He ponders knocking on the door and speaking to his mum, but he realises that will be far too awkward. Too much time has gone by. So instead, he breaks into the house when no one’s in. He starts searching for his certificate and it’s not in the drawer he looks in, so he panics. And just when he does find it, Cain taps him on the shoulder!
Does Cain realise who he is?
No, Cain’s convinced he’s connected to Simon, who’s been threatening him. Of course, Matty’s thinking, ‘Don’t you recognise me?’. Then Cain shoves him over a table, and Matty is knocked out. So that’s a nice entrance – unconscious in the first five minutes! Just as Matty comes round, Cain finds the birth certificate on him. Before Matty can worm his way out, Moira enters!
How does his mum react?
At first she thinks Cain has just beaten up a young guy! But then she looks straight at Matty’s face, and realises. A mum always knows what their kid looks like. She says, ‘Hannah? What have you done?’. She’s confused. She knows her child looks different, so she’s completely baffled. Matty’s obviously very emotional – he’s undergone a complete gender change, which is a huge thing to spring on his family. So it’s all shock and high emotion.
Moira is also hurt when she finds out that Matty has been living nearby in Manchester. Do you think they can heal their relationship?
Well, I hope that they do! I think it would be a beautiful story if they did. It’s not an overnight thing, and it’s not easy. Moira feels that Matty’s let her down – not just with the transition bombshell, but also the fact that he’s been living so close. He’s missed so many important things. I mean, Moira’s been through it all this year, hasn’t she? So there’s a lot to talk about!
Tell us more about Matty…
Matty is an amazing character. He’s a cheeky chappy! He’s a people’s person. He wants to please everybody around him. He wants to fit in and to impress. On the surface he’s very happy, energetic and enthusiastic. But underneath, he’s a bit insecure. He’s still finding himself. He has a lot of hope that everything’s going to turn out all right, yet he’s still struggling with being completely confident – like we all are, you know?
What was your first day on set like?
On the outside, I was very confident and bubbly, though inside I was scared. But everyone introduced themselves and made me feel at home. It was better than I could have hoped.
What was it like working with Natalie J Robb (Moira) and Jeff Hordley (Cain) for your first scenes?
Amazing! I couldn’t have picked two better people. I really lucked out! They’re both very welcoming and warm. They’re obviously really experienced actors, so to play against them was fantastic. Nat and I clicked straight away in the audition, and Jeff is calm and chilled, which is always good when you feel nervous!
How do you feel to be part of Emmerdale’s first transgender plot?
I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for me personally, but also for the soap to build a groundbreaking character. It’s something new – it’s never been done before. It’s very exciting, and I can’t wait to see what people think of Matty.
Moira feels that Matty has let her down – he’s missed a lot