EastEnders casts transgender actor to play trans character
Riley Carter Millington will play Kyle, a young transgender man, who will become a BBC soap regular by the end of the year
EastEnders actor Riley Carter Millington
Jasper Jackson
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Last modified on Wed 1 Jul 2020 13.09 EDT
EastEnders has cast a transgender actor to play a long-running trans character in a first for UK soaps.
Riley Carter Millington has been cast as Kyle, a young transgender man, who will first hit screens in October before becoming a regular at the end of the year.
EastEnders executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins revealed in March the BBC1 show would be introducing a transgender character, and said he was determined the part would be played by a trans actor.
The BBC said producers worked with transgender groups and held workshops in a bid to find someone right for the part.
Treadwell-Collins said: "I've sat in many acting workshops over the years with our casting executive Julia Crampsie and her team – but never have we been so moved by the incredible life stories and wealth of talent that we experienced over our several weeks of workshops with transgender actors.
"In Riley, we have found not just a talented actor but also an inspirational young man whose warmth immediately comes through the screen. And this isn't about tokenism. Alex Lamb and his story team have worked with Riley to create an EastEnders character who is fresh and relatable – but also comes with his own stock of secrets and is going to be thrown right into one of our biggest stories for the end of the year."
The role is Carter Millington's first acting role. He said: "I am extremely excited to be joining EastEnders. I can honestly say that I have now fulfilled my two biggest dreams – to be living my life as a man and to be an actor.
"I cannot wait to really get stuck in with filming and I look forward to seeing what is in store for my character."
This year has been hailed as a turning point for transgender actors in the UK.
In January, Russell T Davies' Cucumber and Banana became the first UK series to feature a trans actor, Bethany Black, playing a recurring character who was also transgender, Helen.
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That was followed last month by the debut of another transgender actor, Rebecca Root, playing a transgender character in BBC2 sitcom Boy Meets Girl. Root also has a small role in the latest Eddie Redmayne film, The Danish Girl.
Coronation Street featured a transgender character, Hayley Cropper, for 16 years starting in 1998. However, the role was played by Julie Hesmondhalgh, who is not transgender. Cropper's character was written out of the show at the start of 2014.
•This article was amended on 9 October 2015 to clarify the description of Julie Hesmondhalgh