Ash Palmisciano made history by playing the first transgender character on Emmerdale. He first appeared on screen as Matty Barton in 2018 and has since been involved in several challenging storylines.
Ash’s character Matty and Amy Wyatt (Natalie Ann Jamieson)’s relationship in Emmerdale has had its ups and downs since they’ve been together, but they’re currently feeling settled and happy and are excitedly planning their upcoming wedding.
But when villager Claudette Anderson (Flo Wilson) discovered that Matty is trans, she decided that it was against her Christian beliefs and, as a result, said that it wouldn’t be right for the couple to get married in the village hall as it was church property.
In the aftermath of Claudette’s hurtful comments, the disappointed couple decided they had no choice but to scale down their plans. Matty wanted a quiet family ceremony rather than try to make a stand against Claudette’s bigotry and be what he saw as other people’s trans role models.
How old is Ash Pamisciano?
Ash Palmisciano was born in January 1990, making him 34 years old.
Who is Ash Pamisciano?
A master of many crafts, Ash Pamisciano is an actor, poet, writer and narrator.
He was originally brought in to advise Emmerdale on their new transgender character, through a charity called All About Trans.
They then asked him to audition and the rest is history.
He described the casting and the role as a ‘big thing’ and said he has been pleasantly surprised by the reception he’s received.
According to his IMDB page, he has also worked for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and was the first transgender actor to appear on the RSC stage.
Ash previously had a YouTube channel where he posted short blogs, spoken word poetry and advice videos.
What has Ash Palmisciano said about his transition?
In April 2019, Matty received top surgery, which left him overjoyed.
‘I think at the time we were going to go down that path, it was lockdown and surgeries weren’t happening in the UK and in reality there are huge waiting lists. So, I really believe it’s true to show a real reflection and so does Emmerdale – and when the time is right, it could be something really exciting to explore.’ Ash explained at the time.
‘Matty’s had a bit of a turbulent time with himself in the sense of getting his hormones right and waiting for his surgery and trying to navigate this relationship; he’s never spoken to people about it and he’s always dealt with stuff on his own – he went off to transition on his own, he doesn’t really do well with communicating his feelings.’
