MATTY Barton is trapped with a violent thug as his prison ordeal takes a harrowing twist in Emmerdale.
The character - played by Ash Palmisciano - was recently sent to prison until his case is heard for the stabbing of Samson Dingle.
Matty has been struggling behind bars, and in upcoming Emmerdale scenes, wife Amy worries about him after he told her not to visit.
Calling from prison, Matty has a fraught but appreciated conversation with Amy.
He’s left bravely smiling when he has to hang up the phone, but it is soon wiped from his face and he tries to mask his horror when he returns to his cell to find hardman Les has been moved in with him.
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Taunting alarmed Matty with a series of quick witted and unnerving quips in his cell, Les continues to make the prison novice worry for his safety.
Later, Cain visits Matty but his attempts to bolster him fall flat.
Terrified, he points out Les as his new cellmate and struggles to keep his emotions in check, despite Cain’s efforts to offer advice.
Cain urges him to use violence against anyone who might threaten him, but Matty’s terrified of what this means he’ll have to do.
Will he be able to stand up for himself? Or could Cain's advice make things worse?
Meanwhile, Matty's prison stint after his altercation with Samson has caused a huge divide in the Dingle family.
Sam and Cain Dingle have been left in a bitter feud after being on opposing sides of the fall out.
And in Tuesday night's episode, Matty's mum Moira was left shocked when her son - who is transgender - revealed he had refused to shower and avoided using the toilet in front of people in a bid to avoid showing his body.
Moira was left shook to her core over how her child felt and vowed to get Samson to change his statement.
Having enlisted Cain to help her get Samson to confess, Cain immediately backed down when he realised Samson was sticking to his story.
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But this caused huge tension between the husband and wife as she raged that he was "not the man [she] married."
Will their marriage crumble under the pressure?
Emmerdale airs on ITV1 and is available on ITVX.
