Modern Family will feature a transgender child actor in a forthcoming episode

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.

Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Eric Stonestreet play Cameron and Mitchell

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.

Ryan tweeted: "So proud to have directed this amazing kid."

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

He posted: "Super proud of this weeks episode of @ModernFam! #Equality #ModernFamily."

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

Heidi tweeted: "Thank you for giving a voice to and raising awareness for the trans community and allies".

Deborah agreed: "As the parent of a transgendered child, I want to thank you for doing this episode."

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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