Yahoo News Emmerdale lines up toxic masculinity storyline for Matty Barton
Emmerdale is lining up a dark, toxic masculinity-themed storyline for Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) as he makes some troublesome new friends.
Matty will end up befriending 'bad boys' Steve and Jonno after playing against them in a cubs football match.
After being asked to have a drink with them at the pub, Matty faces peer pressure from Steve and Jonno and Pete is worried Matty’s trying too hard to impress his new friends.
Related: Emmerdale’s Victoria Barton exit plan moves forward
On his character's new storyline, Palmisciano said: "Basically, Matty is still trying to settle in to the village.
"What happens is that as he’s playing football, he’s picked last a lot of the time, he’s left out by the other lads, and then he learns that Victoria is leaving for Cornwall and he’s pretty upset about it.
"So he just feels not good enough, basically. And he meets some lads who are playing in a team against him, called Steve and Jonno, and they’re pretty bad boys really."
He continued: "Matty feels that in order for him to be respected by the other lads, for him to be a ‘proper man’, he has to be like this – he has to be like one of those guys. And he goes on a bit of a mission. It taps into the whole toxic masculinity thing.
"He’s going though it a little bit late in life – something that most lads go through at about 12 or 13 – trying to figure out how to act with the lads. It’s definitely a side to him that we haven’t seen before."
But how far will Matty go to gain the approval of his new friends?
Emmerdale currently airs weekdays at 7pm on ITV, with an extra episode at 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Read more news, spoilers and gossip on our Emmerdale homepage
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