Matty Barton

Matty Barton (born Hannah Barton) is the husband of Amy Barton, son of John Barton and Moira Dingle and the brother of Holly and Adam Barton as well as Isaac Dingle. While identifying as female during his early years in the village, when he returned in 2018 it was revealed he was a transgender man and had transitioned during his time away.
==Biography==
===2009-2010: Arrival at the farm ===
Hannah arrives in the village with her family, who have purchased the Sugdens' former farm, Butlers Farm. She soon gets a crush on Andy Sugden, but he rejects her since she's just a teenager. It is revealed that she is being bullied via text, however, she hides this from her family, who have failed to realise that she is having trouble settling in. The texts she is receiving are from classmate Kayleigh Gibbs.
In January 2010, Hannah confides in Victoria Sugden, who is aware of the texts as she has been forced into sending some herself. Eventually, Hannah confronts Victoria in the Woolpack toilets, and is hurt when Victoria admits she and Kayleigh have been sending the texts. As a result of this, Hannah flushes Victoria's head down the toilet. After the fight is broken up Hannah reveals she is being bullied. Months later Hannah forgives Victoria and the two become friends again.
In August 2010, Hannah starts a relationship with Isaac Nuttall, a student. Feeling under pressure, Hannah sleeps with Isaac but is mortified to discover their contraception had failed. Because of this and Holly's drug problem, they break up.
===2011-2012: Life on the farm and father's death===
In 2011, following the arrival of Alex Moss, who is immediately attracted to Hannah, she sleeps with him but the relationship does not last and Alex deserts Hannah the next day. Alex later turns his attention to Victoria and they start a relationship, much to Hannah's disappointment and jealousy. Victoria becomes suspicious of Alex and Hannah's behaviour, and Alex admits that he seduced Hannah and then left her, but Hannah gives Victoria and Alex her blessing for the pair to continue their relationship.
After her father's death in February 2012, Hannah begins to work more on the farm, at the same time slipping behind with her college work. It is later revealed that she failed to turn up to some of her A-level exams. When her sister Holly went to live in London with her friend Roz Fielding, Hannah decided she had had enough of life in Emmerdale and the bad memories there, and goes with Holly to start afresh in London.
===2013-2018: Move to London and Manchester===
Hannah tells his family he cannot return after Holly's death; she can't cope with attending his sister's funeral, much to Adam's dismay. However, she does send a holly bush in remembrance of her. A few months later, she informs Moira he also can't return for Christmas.
At some point, Hannah transitioned to male and changed his name to Matty, always feeling that he was born in the wrong body. He moved to Manchester but continued to tell his mother that 'she' was still living in London, even masquerading as "Hannah" when Moira went to visit.
===2018 to present: Transition to male and return===
In June 2018, Matty returned and snuck into Butlers Farm to retrieve his birth certificate, with which he intended to legally change his gender. He was caught by Cain Dingle, who mistook him for an intruder, but when Moira walked in she instantly recognised him as "Hannah". Moira reacted badly to Matty's revelation, telling him to leave. Victoria was also shocked to see her friend was now a man, but accepted him immediately. Cain tried to set Moira and Matty up to get them to reconcile but Matty walked in on Moira saying harsh things about him and left. Cain tried to convince him to forgive Moira, but Matty felt unable to and returned to Manchester. A few weeks later Moira visited Matty in hospital. She apologised for her previous behaviour and after they reconciled, Matty moved back to Emmerdale.
In April 2019, despite various people in the village disagreeing with it, Matty has his top surgery. When he awakes from the surgery, he is so happy that he starts to cry. 
==Personality==
Before his transition, he was always shy and quiet, for a number of reasons. He was bullied, had numerous problems in his family, and all the while he felt like something was wrong. He grew up scared, thinking he was "just a lesbian". After time away from his family, he realised that he was not a lesbian, but actually a transgender man, and began the process of transitioning from female to male. After transitioning, he is more confident in his body and gender identity, although still relatively quiet. 
==Hobbies and interests==
Not much is known about Matty's hobbies, but we do know that he loves being a big brother to Isaac. He is seen as a football fan as he recently has joined the team and is a strong team member. In July 2019, he started a business named Matty's Tat which revives old furniture and makes them modern.
==Relationships==
===Moira Dingle===
Matty has always been close to his mother, especially following his father's death. Despite their close relationship, Matty always felt that he was second best to Holly and Adam and had a tendency to keep things to himself. However, the pair became estranged when Matty began transitioning from female to male and, scared about her reaction, Matty refused to stay in contact with Moira until July 2018. After a few chances and a happy reconciliation, Moira and Matty have built back up their happy relationship.
===Victoria Sugden===
==Career==
Matty has served in a variety of jobs. Prior to moving back to the village, Matty had mentioned that he had previously worked in a call centre. He worked as a farmhand at Butlers Farm but found himself not cut out for the heavy stuff or the paperwork, and decided to seek elsewhere for work after getting scammed for a bull (which Matty got their money back with the help of Victoria Barton)
===Employment history===
Role 	Institution 	Duration
Customer service	Unknown call centre	Prior to 2018
Farmhand 	Butlers Farm 	19th July 2018 to 23rd July 2018
Shop Assistant 	David's Shop 	8th August 2018 to ?
Barman 	The Woolpack 	3rd September 2018 to ?
Barista 	Hide Bistro 	2021 to 2024
Farmhand 	Butlers Farm 	August 2024 to present
==Role in the community==
Matty currently doesn't play a major role in the community as he left for London not long after leaving school. Matty enjoys helping people and will instinctively jump in where he feels he is needed - which earned him a job at David's Shop. He is also a barman at The Woolpack putting him in two of the most central places in the village. 
==Residences==
Address 	Duration
Butlers Farm 	17th July 2009 to 20th June 2012
London 	20th June 2012 to c.2016
Manchester 	c.2016 to 12th July 2018
Butlers Farm 	13th July 2018 to 16th January 2019
Keepers Cottage	16th January to 17th April 2019
Butlers Farm 	17th April 2019 to 19th January 2023
Keepers Cottage	19th January 2023 to 10th June 2024
HMP Hotten 	10th June to 17th July 2024
Keepers Cottage	17th July 2024 to present
==Background information==
*Grace Cassidy quit the role of in 2012, deciding to leave to pursue other jobs and advance in her career. The character departed with on-screen sister Holly.
*In June 2018, it was revealed that producer Iain MacLeod had recast the role. Actor Ash Palmisciano was initially brought in to assist the team with the storyline on 31st January but they were interested to discover that he is an actor, and impressed by his performance gave him the role of Matty.
==Quotes==
"Alcoholic!" - first line, about Andy Sugden.
----
"Bye!" - to Adam and Moira when leaving with his sister Holly Barton.
----
"I can't..." - first line upon his 2018 return as Matty Barton, to Cain Dingle.
----
"Hiya mum" - to Moira Barton when she begins to realise that her child is transitioning from female to male.
----
"You're the best friend I've had in ages. I don't want us to muck that up and we would when you realise that you just wanted some comfort and I'm the rebound guy. You mean too much to me to risk it" - to Victoria Barton.
----
"But I'm sick of being scared and jealous, when all I want to do is..." - to Victoria Barton before he kisses her for the first time.
==See also== 
*Full list of appearances
Category:Emmerdale characters
Category:Current characters
Category:Characters played by different actors
Category:1994 births
Category:2009 debuts
Category:2024 marriages
Category:Barton family
Category:Boyd family
Category:Wyatt family
Category:Residents of Butlers Farm
Category:Residents of Keepers Cottage
Category:Shop Assistants
Category:Students
Category:Farmhands
Category:Barmen
Category:Woolpack employees
Category:Hawksford Outdoor Pursuits employees