Hollyoaks resident Phoenix Hathaway prepares to move to London in upcoming scenes.
In scenes airing next week, Shing Lin Leong (Izzi Yip) visits Phoenix, who helps her make a big decision about her future by passing on some research about moving to London.
Phoenix opens up about wanting to move to London, but he’s worried he’s not strong enough to take that leap. However, he finds some comfort in support from both Diane Hutchinson (Alex Fletcher) and Charlie Dean (Charlie Behan), who encourage him by reminding him how far he’s come.
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READ MORE: Want more TV? Daily Star has just the thing for you!
From changing his name to being the child of two television legends, Daily Star takes a look back at actor Tylan Grant’s life away from the village.
Famous family
(Image: FilmMagic)
Tylan is the son of Fame Academy icons and vocal coaches Carrie and David Grant. Carrie appeared alongside Tylan on Loose Women three years ago as they revealed that no one believed he had autism when he was were first diagnosed.
She said that they noticed Tylan was different through his sister Imogen. Carrie explained at the time: “We thought, hang on a minute, there’s something a bit different here. We got Imogen tested and we thought we probably need to get Talia [now Tylan] tested as she was suffering real anxiety at school.”
Father David has also said publicly that Tylan has previously been hospitalised for mental health issues caused by bullying, which transformed into cyber bullying while the star was in hospital. In 2020, Carrie and David appeared in Hollyoaks as Mal and Zoe, the adoptive parents of Brooke Hathaway, now Phoenix Hathaway, newborn child.
Making history
(Image: @hxpefully/Instagram)
Tylan made his professional acting debut in an episode of the CBBC sitcom So Awkward as Greta Masters. The TV personality become the first autistic star to land a role in British TV drama and larer made his Hollyoaks debut in July 2018 as Brooke, an adopted member of the Osborne family. Tylan was the first BAME actor to play an autistic character on a television series.
Asperger’s diagnosis
(Image: Lime Pictures)
Tylan was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome in 2009, at the age of seven, and has previously spoken about the difficulties he faced while attending school, due to there being little awareness on the syndrome at the time. In a piece for i newspaper, Tylan stated that teachers did not believe that he were autistic, and that nobody at school understood him.
He wrote at the time: “I was scared of loud noises, terrified of certain subjects, I wasn’t sure how to make friends or how to keep friendships going, how to cope when I was teased about my afro hair, or how to eat next to someone who sneezed.”
Transition
(Image: @hxpefully/Instagram)
Tylan changed their name from Talia after coming out as non-binary and last year, Grant’s on-screen character came out as a trans man and shared their new name, Phoenix Hathaway, with their close friend Charlie Dean (Charlie Behan).
The character previously came out as non-binary in 2021 after Grant came out as non-binary, and came out as trans man in 2023 after Grant transitioned the same year.
Phoenix has joined a growing number of trans, non-binary and genderqueer soap characters including Neighbours‘ Mackenzie Hargreaves (Georgia Stone), Emmerdale‘s Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) and fellow Hollyoaks resident Ripley Lennox (Ki Griffin) who played Brooke’s former partner.
(Image: Lime Pictures)
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Speaking about his connection to the Hollyoaks storyline, Tylan previously told followers on Instagram that they hope it encourages any viewers in a similar situation. He said at the time: “This storyline in particular means a lot to me, being non binary myself, seeing the progression of Brooke’s [now Phoenix] self growth and self discovery has been emotional and empowering for me. I hope anyone out there who is coming to terms (or confused) with their identity can feel heard, encouraged or that I can be the representation that I so needed when I was younger,” Tylan added, before thanking fans “for the love”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
