EastEnders has made British soap history after producers cast the first ever transgender actor in a recurring transgender role. Riley Carter Millington is set to join the cast of the show as transgender character, Kyle, reports the BBC.
And while this is not the first time a transgender character has appeared in a soap, a transgender actor has never been cast as a transgender character before.
Millington's role as Kyle will be the 21-year-old actor's first professional gig since leaving drama school. He will make a brief appearance as Kyle on screen this month before the character returns permanently at the end of the year.
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"I am excited to be joining EastEnders," he told the BBC. "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."
The Daily Mirror reports that Millington, from Manchester, has done some work as an extra, and claims to be good at French, German, Russian, US, Australian and cockney accents – the last one will come in handy for EastEnders.
It's not the first time the soap has pushed the boundaries of popular culture, says The Independent. In the past, it has featured storylines involving a character with HIV and a gay kiss.
EastEnders' producers first announced plans to create a transgender character in February and held workshops for transgender actors for casting.
Executive producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins stressed that this "isn't about tokenism" and that showrunners were "so careful to ensure that we cast the right actor for the part".
He added that the casting directors have never been so moved by "the incredible life stories and wealth of talent that we experienced over our several weeks of workshops with transgender actors".
So far not much is known about the character of Kyle as producers remain tight-lipped, says the Daily Mail.
The story team have apparently worked with Millington to create the character, making him someone "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".
Millington's role is part of a sea change, bringing trans stories to our screens. Last month, British actress and comedian Rebecca Root appeared in the BBC's new sitcom Boy Meets Girl, the first mainstream UK sitcom to cast a transgender actor in a lead role.
Root said of her role in Boy Meets Girl: "I really believe that it will demystify my community; it will increase the visibility of the trans population."
She added: "In a way it's a shame: it's 2015, for goodness sake, and we're only having this conversation now. But better late than never."
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