{"id":54820,"date":"2024-07-15T17:02:28","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T15:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=2072064"},"modified":"2024-07-16T08:04:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T06:04:49","slug":"hollyoaks-iz-hesketh-celebrates-positive-impact-of-trans-youth-storyline","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/hollyoaks-iz-hesketh-celebrates-positive-impact-of-trans-youth-storyline\/","title":{"rendered":"Hollyoaks\u2019 Iz Hesketh celebrates positive impact of trans youth storyline"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kitty Draper star bagged the award for Best Newcomer. <\/p>

By Morgan Cormack\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 15 July 2024 at 15:02 PM<\/p>

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Having picked up the award for Best Newcomer at this year\u2019s RadioTimes.com Soap Awards<\/a><\/strong>, sponsored by\u00a0Inspired Villages<\/a>, Iz Hesketh has celebrated the win\u00a0and reflected on her important role in Hollyoaks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The actress stars in the soap as Kitty Draper, having joined the long-running series earlier this year. Already, Hesketh has been making waves after her mysterious arrival in January.<\/p>\n

But her storyline and character arc is a vital one for the soap, with Hesketh reflecting on her journey so far after accepting the award for Best Newcomer.<\/p>\n

Chatting exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/span><\/strong> at the Soap Awards this weekend, Hesketh said that winning the award feels \u201cunreal\u201d and she was \u201cso happy\u201d. She went on: \u201cIt\u2019s absolutely incredible, yeah I\u2019m just buzzing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier in the year, Rose Lomax (Ava Webster) confided in Kitty about their own gender identity which then led to Kitty speaking to Rose\u2019s parents, Diane and Tony, about how best to support their child.<\/p>\n

In relation to her gender identity storyline with Rose, Hesketh said: \u201cI just feel honestly blessed to have been trusted with the storyline. It\u2019s had a lot of backlash, which hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/p>\n

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Iz Hesketh.<\/span><\/figcaption> Dominic Lipinski\/Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m so happy I\u2019ve been part of the story that\u2019s been able to prove that trans elders are here to help trans kids, show them the way to go if they decide that that is the path for them and they realise that that is the path for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that we aren\u2019t the prejudice that everyone\u2019s saying in the media, we\u2019re just trying to help our youngers. I\u2019m really, really blessed to have been given that part of the storyline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ahead of her exciting win at this year\u2019s awards, Iz revealed more about her introduction into Hollyoaks and her eventful start in the soap. She said: \u201cIt\u2019s been unreal. When I first was in talks with the show, she was this completely different character and then kind of everything changed as the show developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I was just about to start, a lot of the storyline got changed, which I\u2019m really happy about because it became a lot more personal and a lot more like myself. So, I\u2019ve just been happy to show that trans people are normal people who have normal lives and just make bad choices, good choices and flirt with boys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hesketh beat the likes of Coronation Street<\/a>\u2018s Jack Carroll, EastEnders<\/a>\u2018 Francesca Henry and Emmerdale<\/a>\u2018s Beth Cordingly to take home the RadioTimes.com<\/strong> Soap Award at the weekend, with the vote being decided by a group of soap experts.<\/p>

Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n