‘Wigan care staff helped me come out as transgender’

A former builder who was threatened with electric shock therapy for wearing a dress as a child has said staff at her assisted living home finally helped her come out as a transgender woman in her 60s.

Samantha Wolsey, 69, previously known as Billy, first wore a dress at the age of six, which led her father to take her to see a psychiatrist, who suggested the treatment.

She decided to keep her identity secret for years but has since been supported to come out by staff at the supported accommodation flats where she lives in Wigan.

“Everybody, as far as I know, has accepted me,” she said.

Samantha said she felt “absolutely superb” when she first wore a dress aged six, but said her father hated it “because he’s always wanted men in his life”.

After the psychiatrist suggested the shock therapy, she said she turned to her dad and said: “If you want that shock treatment, lie on it yourself.

“I said, ‘It’s you who bloody needs it and not me’.”

She met her wife Denise while working as a builder in 1978.

She said when she first told her about her cross-dressing Denise did not believe her – until she dressed up and showed her.

Samantha recalls Denise saying: “You look OK from your neck down, but that bloody wig, what you’ve got on, it’s absolutely disgusting.”

Before long Denise began bringing home feminine clothes as a gesture of support for her partner.

One night in the 1990s, Samantha recalled how she went out with some male friends while dressed as a woman under the guise of raising money for Children In Need.

She was attacked from behind at a taxi rank in Leigh, resulting in severe injuries.

Following this ordeal, Samantha chose to keep her identity hidden, apart from while on holidays abroad to Spain, Greece and Turkey, where she felt free to express herself.

In 2014, Denise was diagnosed with a tumour in the middle of her chest, and was moved into a care facility in Wigan due to her medical needs.

Samantha originally took the bus daily to visit her wife but, in 2020, she moved into one of Belong Wigan’s independent living apartments to be closer to her

Here, staff supported Samantha to come out as transgender and gave her the confidence to dress as a woman in public for the first time after being attacked.

One evening in 2023, she dressed up as Samantha and claimed it was “for a fancy-dress party”.

The next day, a staff member encouraged her to be herself, and from that day she has embraced her identity full-time, with other residents given an opportunity to attend a Q&A about her transition.

Looking back, Samantha regrets not transitioning earlier – and may have considered surgery if she was younger – but remains proud of her journey.

She hopes her story will inspire others to embrace their true selves, regardless of age.

“If you want to do it, go for it,” Samantha said.

“I’ll be there if you want to talk to somebody.”