Danger has reared its ugly head many times in the village of Emmerdale, and it’s no different this week when Ruby Fox-Milligan (Beth Cordingly) and Caleb Miligan (William Ash) go on the warpath.
The pair are waiting for their son Nicky Miligan (Lewis Cope) to wake from a coma – and are out for revenge. Ethan Anderson (Emile John), who left Nicky for dead after a crash, is hit by a car. So did Ruby, Caleb or Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) run him over?
“It could easily be Caleb or even Cain. They’ve got form when it comes to retribution,” says Will Ash, who plays Caleb. “I think in this instance, in terms of motivation for Caleb, it’s all there right in front of him, what has happened. There is no grey area at all with it – Ethan is in the wrong. So I think either of us could have done it, or any of the three of us.”
Ruby is also a main suspect and four months into her new role, actress Beth Cordingly tells us she is no longer surprised by her character’s wayward behaviour.
“It’s fun to play the wild and outrageous parts,” says Beth. “It’s the same when I played Sara in Family Affairs, I remember thinking, ‘I’m just going to have to show the side of me that only my mum sees,’ and I have to do that with Ruby as well sometimes. You always have to find justification and the logic of the character.”
In fact, Ruby was so outlandish that Beth says her nearest and dearest feared for her safety in real life.
“My dad got very worried at the beginning,” explains Beth. “He said, ‘She’s so awful! You’re going to get trolled!’ Then it went all around the family about being trolled and a friend of a member of my family rang and said, ‘We hear you’re being trolled!’ They like seeing the explosive drama but they do get a bit worried about Ruby’s behaviour.”
As for romance between Ruby and Caleb, Will believes the potential loss of their son will bring the pair closer.
“Something will always be percolating,” he reveals. “It would be nice if that happened, just for us to play it.”
“When I was told about Nicky, I thought, ‘They’ll either bond over it or fall apart over it,’” says Beth. I feel Ruby and Caleb are always going to have situations thrown at them like that to try and keep them moving along.”
