'EastEnders' actor Roger Sloman was inspired by Kellie Maloney for his latest storyline.
Roger Sloman as Les Coker
The 69-year-old actor's character Les Coker confessed to his wife Pam that he's a crossdresser in last night's (19.10.15) episode of the BBC One soap and Roger's revealed he read the book boxing promoter Kellie - who was known as Frank before her gender transition - wrote about her experiences to prepare for the storyline.
He said: "I got Kellie Maloney's book to read during all this and it was interesting what she went through.
"There was one part where Frank was out shopping with his wife and would completely forget himself and pick up clothes, she would look at him and say, 'What on earth are you doing?'
"I found it interesting that he would find himself doing a mannerism that he would do in his female mode and then realise he was doing it as a man."
However, while Kellie felt like a woman living in a man's body, Les simply uses crossdressing as a form of escapism.
Roger told The Sun newspaper: "He's transgender, which Les is not but what struck me, and helped me with Les, is the turmoil that he went through.
"To feel like you are living a lie, keeping all those secrets and then to break it to your family, wow.
"It was actually heartbreaking to read how he dealt with that, it was the secrecy part of his life and the fact that he had to redefine his role in the family, as the husband and father to something else."