User:AnemoneProjectors/Kyle Slater

Kyle Slater is a character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Riley Carter Millington. His first appearance is in a combination of the show's 5,164th and 5,165th episodes, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on 30 October 2015. Kyle is the half brother of Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner). The character is transgender, and it was reported as the first time a transgender actor has played the role of a transgender character in a British soap opera.

Storylines
Kyle first arrives in Walford on Halloween and is seen by Stacey Branning (Lacey Turner) watching her from afar. She sees him throughout the day, and he briefly goes to her party that night, though he leaves shortly afterwards, revealing (to the audience) that he has a key around his neck similar to one that Stacey previously had but that was taken by her mother, Jean Slater (Gillian Wright). Kyle later attends a church service that Stacey is also at, and he sits behind her while she prays. When Kyle gets up to leave, Stacey shouts after him, asking if she knows him, and later tells her boyfriend Martin Fowler (James Bye) that she is being stalked. When Jean visits Stacey, Stacey tells her about her stalker. Jean's husband Ollie Walters (Tony O'Callaghan) says someone visited Jean recently, and Jean eventually reveals that Stacey's father Brian had another family, and Stacey realises that Kyle is her half brother.

In the new year, Kyle resolves to introduce him to Stacey, so he returns to Walford, supported by his friends Sophie Dodd (Poppy Rush) and Ricksy Hicks (Joel Phillimore). He tells Stacey he is her brother, and she is upset when he talks about his memories of their father. Kyle mentions his sisters, Siobhan and Shannon, and hands Stacey envelopes for her and her brother Sean Slater (Rob Kazinsky) that Kyle found in Brian's safety deposit box that the key opened. Stacey notes that Kyle is the only one of Brian's children whose name does not start with the letter S. They agree to stay in touch, and Kyle tells Sophie that he does not want Stacey to know his secret. After Stacey runs away from the square with her son Arthur and hides in the allotments, she calls Kyle, saying he is the only person she can trust. Kyle takes her to a café, and while she is changing Arthur's nappy, Kyle calls Martin from her phone, who calls him a fraud, after hearing from Charlie Slater (Derek Martin) that Brian only had daughters with his other wife, including one named Sarah. Stacey takes the phone from Kyle and Martin tells her that Kyle is not her brother, so Stacey accuses him of being the devil before running away. Martin and Kush Kazemi (Davood Ghadami) arrive shortly afterwards, and warn Kyle not to follow them. On the day of Charlie's funeral, Stacey does not go because Kyle has returned, hoping to tell Stacey the truth, and she fears Martin will give Arthur to him. In the pub, Stacey tells everyone that he is the devil. Martin forces Kyle to leave.

Kyle returns a month later and gives Martin a box from Brian's safety deposit box for Stacey. Martin tells Kyle that Stacey has been sectioned and blames him for this, and Martin warns him away from Walford. When Stacey has a home visit, Kyle returns but Stacey tells him to leave and tells Martin to throw the box away. When Kyle finds her later, she calls him a liar as Brian only had three daughters with his other wife, so Kyle says he used to be Stacey's sister Sarah, and he is transgender. Stacey accepts this and allows Kyle to move into her home. Kyle gets work as a chef for Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt). When Stacey is discharged from hospital, she arranges a family lunch with Kyle, Martin, Jean, Ollie and her cousin Belinda Peacock (Carli Norris). Jean refuses to believe Kyle is Stacey's brother, so he is forced to reveal that he is transgender, but Jean still does not believe him.

Kyle worries about Andy Flynn's (Jack Derges) intentions when he invites himself into Stacey's house while Martin is away. Sophie returns and it is revealed that she was in love with Sarah, but Kyle upsets her when he says does not want to "go backwards"; she thinks she is a part of his life he wants to forget and leaves. Kyle is unhappy when Andy wolf-whistles at Stacey and tells him it is the kind of behaviour that can lead to rape. Stacey makes him apologise but when Andy and Jack call him a feminist, he accuses Stacey of telling them about his past. Kyle is angry at Stacey and when she returns to the pub, Andy has guessed that Kyle is transgender but is fine about it. Sophie and Kyle fall out when she calls him selfish. Kyle and Stacey talk about Kyle's mother, Alison Slater (Denise Welch), and Stacey calls her, leaving Kyle frustrated. Alison visits Kyle but struggles with how he has changed and insists she has only daughters and it is not normal. Stacey fails to encourage her to get to know Kyle and she leaves. Kyle is initially angry with Stacey but she says there will be other chances.

Development
It was announced in March 2015 that the show was planning to cast a transgender actor to play a transgender character. Following this announcement, a number of transgender actors put themselves forward for the role, and EastEnders producers undertook workshops and worked alongside groups within the transgender community.

The character and casting was confirmed on 8 October 2015. Of his casting, Millington said, "I am extremely excited to be joining EastEnders. 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. I cannot wait to really get stuck in with filming and I look forward to seeing what is in store for my character." Executive produced Dominic Treadwell-Collins confirmed it had been his intention to cast a trans actor in a trans role, saying, "we have been so careful to ensure that we cast the right actor for the part", and said, "In Riley, we have found not just a talented actor but also an inspirational young man whose warmth immediately comes through the screen. And this isn't about tokenism. Alex Lamb and his story team have worked with Riley to create an EastEnders character 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. I hope that the audience will take Riley and his character to their hearts as quickly as everyone here at EastEnders has done." This was reported as the first time a transgender actor has played the role of a transgender character in a British soap opera, though Annie Wallace was cast at around the same time in Hollyoaks as Sally St. Claire, while transgender actress Rebecca Root had a non-trans minor role in Hollyoaks earlier in 2015.

Reception
Kyle's arrival in the show was nominated for the "media moment" award at the 2016 British LGBT Awards. Millington was nominated in the Best Soap Newcomer category at the 2016 TV Choice Awards.

In June 2016, Kyle was placed eighth on a Digital Spy list of 10 rising soap stars. Daniel Kilkelly, who compiled the list, said "Let's be honest—after nearly two years of hype surrounding Stacey's mystery key, the 'big reveal' that it unlocked the secret of a long-lost brother could have been a real dud on paper. [...] But we'll forgive EastEnders for dragging out the secret, as the arrival of down-to-earth Kyle has been a welcome move for his on-screen family this year. With Kyle, Stacey, Martin, Lily and Belinda now a strong unit, there's a new family group on the Square that we can really root for. We also saw that new recruit Riley can excel in the emotional scenes too, when Kyle was rejected by his mum Alison for being transgender. Things have maybe been a little too quiet for Kyle since then, so let's hope he gets another chance to shine again soon."