Hollyoaks Brooke stars life – famous parents, name change and making history
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Hollyoaks favourite Brooke Hathaway has recently come to terms with their gender identity in heartfelt scenes.
The popular character, played by Tylan Grant, came out as non-binary after struggling to deal with the announcement they had been voted prom queen of Hollyoaks High.
Brooke's sensitive but ultimately uplifting storyline has meant a lot to Tylan, who also identifies as non-binary.
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The teen is the child of Fran, Becca Dean's murderer who later died in hospital, leaving Brooke alone.
Over the past couple of years, Brooke has been through teenage pregnancy, bullying and coming to to their realisation that they're non-binary.
TV star Tylan, who was born Talia, came out earlier this year and also changed their name.
The talented youngster is the child of Fame Academy's David and Carrie Grant.
Daily Star has decided to take a look inside Tylan's life as their Hollyoaks character Brooke questions their romance with Ripley Kennox (Ki Griffin).
Making history
Tylan made their 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.
They made their Hollyoaks debut in July 2018 as Brooke, an adopted member of the Osborne family.
Talking previously of their role in the Channel 4 soap, they said: "For a long while there has been no representation on screen of autistic women, especially autistic women of colour, so I am really looking forward to developing the character of Brooke and representing something that perhaps people are unaware of."
Tylan is the first BAME actor to play an autistic character on a television series.
Famous parents
Tylan is the teenager of Fame Academy icons and vocal coaches Carrie and David Grant.
Carrie, 55, appeared alongside Tylan on Loose Women three years ago as they revealed that no one believed they had autism when they were first diagnosed.
She said that they noticed Tylan was different through their sister Imogen.
Carrie explained: "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."
"I want my children to be just like they are. If someone came along and said there’s a special tablet that takes away Talia’s autism, I’d say forget it, she’s amazing, she’s the actress she is on Hollyoaks because of it."
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 Hollyoask as Mal and Zoe, the adoptive parents of Brooke's newborn child.
Asperger's diagnosis
Tylan was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome in 2009, at the age of seven, and has spoken about the difficulties they 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 they were autistic, and that nobody at school understood them.
They also wrote: "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."
Tylan marked autism awareness week in April this year by sharing a snap on social media with their cute dog.
The star penned alongside a mirror selfie: "Happy autism awareness week. my needs are not just 'special', they are mandatory! Love to all my autistic and neurodivergent ppl n thanks to @daily_sleeper for this outfit, I'm so comfy."
Non-binary and name change
Tylan changed their name from Talia after coming out as non-binary.
The soap star previously described coming out as non-binary, a gender identity that is not exclusively masculine or feminine, as their "biggest achievement" of 2020.
"Coming out to people has been probably the biggest achievement, coming out as non-binary, that’s probably been one of the biggest transitions in my life and also the biggest achievement," the TV personality said.
They have since changed their name on their Instagram profile to Tylan Grant.
Tylan's character Brooke also came out as non-binary in emotional Hollyoaks scenes.
The character seemed help from non-binary character Ripley (Ki Griffin).
Speaking about their connection to the Hollyoaks storyline, Tylan told followers on Instagram that they hope it encourages any viewers in a similar situation.
"This storyline in particular means a lot to me, being non binary myself, seeing the progression of Brooke's self growth and self discovery has been emotional and empowering for me," they wrote alongside a series of behind-the-scenes pics.
"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".
Hollyoaks airs weekdays on Channel 4 at 6.30pm and first look episodes on E4 at 7pm
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