Modern Family has cast its first transgender child actor.

The director of the comedy show, Ryan Case, has tweeted to say that she is "super proud" of the episode, which is part of the eighth series of the show.

It's called A Stereotypical Day and will air in the US on 28 September on ABC.

Parents of transgender children have posted messages on social media thanking the sitcom for "giving a voice" to their community.

In the episode, same-sex couple Cameron and Mitchell allow their daughter Lily to have her transgender friend Tom over to play.

He is played by eight-year-old Jackson Millarker from Atlanta.

Director Ryan Case introduced him to her followers on Instagram and Twitter.

One of the show's stars Jesse Tyler Ferguson also tweeted his joy that Jackson was a part of the show.

Many people on social media have praised the show for "breaking boundaries".

Modern Family has won 22 Emmy awards and two of its stars are among the highest paid actresses on US television.

Sofia Vergara (Gloria) topped Forbes magazine rich list in 2016 after apparently earning £32.6m in 12 months.

Her co-star Julie Bowen (Claire) earned £7.6m and came 10th.

Transgender actors have appeared in shows like Orange Is The New Black and Nashville but none of them have been child stars.

A trans teenager called Jazz Jennings has a reality show on US network, TLC, called I Am Jazz.

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