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Beth Cordingly joined Emmerdale as Caleb Milligan’s wife, Ruby, in January and she has certainly made her mark. And as she’s set to be thrust into the spotlight again in the coming weeks with the arrival of her estranged daughter and father, we’re going to see a whole lot more of Ruby Fox-Miligan before the year is out.

But while we know – and are definitely loving – Ruby, what about actress Beth?

Well, she’s a soap stalwart, who’s appeared in other long-running drama faves, and she is even dating a former Emmerdale heartthrob.

Ruby in Emmerdale

Ruby swept into the village earlier this year described as a “force of nature” by show bosses – and she certainly is that! She is the on/off wife of Caleb and mum to Nicky and Steph Miligan. The latter we have only recently found out about and is due on screen next week.

Her marriage to Caleb is dysfunctional to say the least. They both cheat, lie and betray, but always find their way back to each other in the end. It’s sort of romantic, isn’t it?

Caleb’s most recent betrayal was not telling Ruby he had seen her mum before she died. Nor that he blackmailed her for £100k. Ruby seems to have forgiven him after he organised a holiday for her to visit son Nicky.

But when she returns she will come face to face with Steph, who she hasn’t seen in years. There’s definitely beef between mother and daughter and Steph wants nothing to do with Ruby. It all comes to a head with a slap in the face and then Ruby’s dad, Anthony, turns up as well. He disowned Ruby when she chose to marry Caleb.

But he seems to have changed and wants to reconcile. Will Ruby forgive him? And can she get her daughter back on side?

Beth Cordingly as Ruby Fox-Miligan in Emmerdale

Ruby is played by Beth Cordingly. She is from Brighton and is 47 years old.

Where do you recognise Beth Cordingly from?

Beth’s big break came in Channel 5 soap Family Affairs. She played Sara Warrington, a lapdancer who blew her wages on her cocaine habit. She left the soap after a year to move into theatre.

Then in 2002 she came back to TV screens to play PC Kerry Young in The Bill. Prior to playing Ruby it is probably her best-known TV role. She stayed until 2004 when Kerry was raped by evil PC Gabriel Kent. He was then revealed as the Sun Hill sniper. Gabriel shot Kerry and she died – but he was devastated to learn she was pregnant with his baby after the attack.

Beth has appeared in all sorts of other TV hits though, including Casualty, Doctors, and Merlin. She also played Shirley Carter’s prison cellmate in EastEnders, and she’s an experienced theatre actress.

Beth Cordingly and Emmerdale star Ian Kelsey

Beth is in a relationship with former Emmerdale star Ian Kelsey, who played Kim Tate’s lover Dave Glover. He also played Vinny Ashford in Coronation Street, a dodgy business associate of Pat Phelan, who ended up one of the serial killer’s victims.

The couple have been together for three years. Last Christmas they shared a motorcycling adventure around Normandy and documented their travels in a video on YouTube.

Beth and Ian first met 20 years ago, but both married other people and lost touch. When they reconnected in 2021, they got together and have been loved-up ever since.

“I am very in love with Ian and very happy,” Beth told The Mirror earlier this year. “I think it really does work him being an actor too. He has been so fantastic.”

When Beth was offered the part of Ruby in Emmerdale, she asked Ian for advice. And, he was all for it.

“Ian was really supportive and wanted me to do it, which is lovely,” she confessed.

Beth lives in the south of the country and has one daughter, who she describes as her “best little person”. Beth is commuting to Leeds for the part of Ruby. She regularly shares her travel on Instagram as the trains have been a bit of a nightmare for her!

However, she revealed Ian completely understands the struggle.

“There is that thing as an actor where you are always taken away from home. But he totally gets it,” Beth said. “He knows a lot of the crew and cast and so it’s lovely to be able to share what I’ve been up to, knowing he understands. That’s important when you are away and he is always keen to find out how filming has gone each day.

“We are both very supportive of each other’s careers which is important when it is such a competitive industry,” she added.

Beth’s charity work

As an ambassador for ChildLine, Beth is committed to raising awareness and funds on their behalf. She ran the London Marathon in 2004 for the charity.

In 2009, she was given an award at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom for her outstanding contributions to the NSPCC.

She’s a writer too!

Beth has added another string to her bow by being a published author. She has a creative writing MA from Birkbeck, University of London.

In 2009 she wrote a short story which was published in an anthology of short stories called Dancing with Mr Darcy. She has also won other short story competitions.

Read more: Who’s leaving Emmerdale? All the cast exits, arrivals and returns

Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm, with an early release on ITVX at 7am.

Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.

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