British Soap 'Hollyoaks' To Have Trans Character

The British soap opera Hollyoaks has been broadcast on Channel 4 since October 1995, and is about to start another trans storyline.

Hollyoaks had previously done a trans storyline in which teen Jasmine Costello, portrayed by actress Victoria Atkin, transitioned to living as a young gay man named Jason.from August 2, 2010 to December 1, 2011.

Show regular Modupe Adyeye plays Blessing Chambers, one of the new characters on the long running soap that made her first appearance on February 21.   She is set to reveal next month to Tony Hutchinson (played by Nick Pickard) that she is a trans woman.  

This character inspired by Laverne Cox.is being loosely based on British writer and activist Paris Lees.  

Blessing will reveal that she spent time in a young offenders institution before transitioning and moving to Hollyoaks to start a new life.  At the same time her family, who has not seen her since the transition, hires a private investigator as they start looking for her.  

Adeyeye said: ‘I found researching the character of Blessing really inspiring and I hope that her story of a young trans woman who is loud and feisty and unapologetic proves to be a good role model.

‘I hope that the people who need to be touched by her story will be.’

- See more at: http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/hollyoaks-reveals-new-transgender-storyline250414#sthash.a4YxLSv8.9G7SHESV.dpuf

While the show's writers worked with The Gender Trust and All About Trans to ensure a sensitive and realistic portrayal of the upcoming storyline, and Adyeye earnestly wants to do a quality job playing this tarns story, the chatter in the British and international trans community on social media is asking the question why wasn't a trans actress hired to portray a trans person?

I guess we should thank the producers for the small favor of not putting a man in drag in the role, especially since this Hollyoaks trans character is a person of color.  .

Adyeye said in an interview, "I found researching the character of Blessing really inspiring and I hope that her story of a young trans woman who is loud and feisty and unapologetic proves to be a good role model. I hope that the people who need to be touched by her story will be."

The trans community of Great Britain and their trans cousins around the world sure hope so.