The hell is only intensifying for wrongly imprisoned Matty Barton (Ash Palmisciano) in Emmerdale.

Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) have been trying hard to get Matty freed, even at the potential cost of their marriage, but to no avail.

Everyone is against him, and Samson Dingle (Sam Hall) is sticking to his guns with his claim that Matty purposely stabbed him, despite the truth being that his awful friend Josh pushed him onto the knife.

Before his imprisonment, Matty foolishly tried to push Samson into changing his story – albeit to the truth – but instead found himself being taken to prison and held on remand for breaking the conditions of his bail.

With the robbery case also having been dropped, Matty stands no chance of having his charges overturned.

His terror has been growing day by day, with him desperately trying to hide the fact he is trans by avoiding the shower and refusing to take medication. Things are bad enough, but they are set to get so much worse.

Amy Wyatt’s (Natalie Ann Jamieson) thrown when Matty asks her not to visit and fears the motives behind it. They have a phone call that temporarily puts Matty in a good place, he’s even left smiling as they end the call. But as he turns, there’s fresh horror awaiting him.

There in his cell stands his new brutish cellmate – Les. Les is quick to set the tone between them, frightening Matty with quips and cutting comments that work to leave him fearing for his safety.

Cain visits Matty and senses the downturn in his mood. He tries to buoy him up, but unsurprisingly fails as Matty points out the reason he is sleeping with one eye open – Les.

His fear almost spills over as he struggles to control his emotions, and Cain tries to urge him to harden up and use violence against anyone who tries to threaten him. But they both know that Matty is not the kind of guy.

The gravity of the situation sinks in as Matty realises what this means – his safety is seriously at risk.