Matty Barton’s (Ash Palmisciano) worst fears have been realised in Emmerdale after coming head to head with his new cellmate. Even step-dad Cain Dingle’s (Jeff Hordley) advice couldn’t help.

Cain and wife Moira Dingle (Natalie J Robb) have been tirelessly working to secure Matty’s release in recent weeks, even potentially jeopardising their own marriage.

As viewers of the ITV soap know, odds are stacked against Matty, with Samson Dingle (Sam Hall) adamantly maintaining that he intentionally stabbed him, though in reality, his transphobic friend Josh had pushed him onto the knife.

Before being wrongly imprisoned, Matty made a desperate and misguided attempt to convince Samson to tell the truth, but this only led to his arrest for violating bail conditions.

We’ve also seen him attempt to hide his transgender identity, avoiding showering alongside fellow inmates and refusing his hormone medication. His situation is dire, and unfortunately, will continue to worsen.

Earlier this week, we saw Matty confronted by his new cellmate, Les, who quickly established himself as top-dog with intimidating remarks, leaving him fearful for his safety.

In tonight’s (28th June) episode, Cain visited him in prison and noticed his distress around Les.

Cain gave him some true Dingle advice – whether or not he should follow it is another matter – toughen up and fight back, and hurt those who hurt him.

Matty knew that it’s not in his nature to do that, and later, in his cell, Les lashed out after being unable to find his tobacco.

Les grabbed him by his jumper, threatening to kill him if he’d took it. Matty looked horrified as his loud-mouthed room mate laughed off his fear and walked away.

Will he be okay?