Emmerdale viewers said they were proud of the soap as it introduced its first transgender character.
Monday’s instalment of the ITV serial saw the arrival of a man named Matty (Ash Palmisciano), who turns out to be Moira Barton’s daughter Hannah.
Matty turns up at the farm and gets knocked out cold by Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley), who suspects he is an intruder.
However, when Moira (Natalie J Robb) arrives, she instantly recognises him as her daughter Hannah, who was last seen a few years ago before she moved to London.
Fans were impressed with Emmerdale for including “such an important character” and said they could not wait to see how the plot plays out.
One person wrote on Twitter: “So so so proud of #emmerdale representation is so important. i am already absolutely LOVING matty & ash is a brilliant actor. storyline of the year guyss :).”
Another said: “Hats off to @emmerdale writers regarding Mattys storyline just now.So genuine in its portrayal.”
One tweeted: “Bravo with another great storyline. Nobody should ever be afraid or ashamed of who they are #Matty #Emmerdale.”
“Emmerdale now has characters in all the letters in LGBT and its pride month, and im just really proud about this,” said another viewer.
“Completely blown away by @Ash_Palmo tonight!” another pleased fan tweeted.
“Amazing first episode and can’t wait to see where Marty’s journey takes him. Super proud of you, and such an important character to be on our screens #Emmerdale #mattybarton.”
Emmerdale continues on ITV.