Emmerdale spoilers: Ruby Fox-Miligan reveals secret agony from her past that changes everything

Could there be something desperately sad driving Ruby Fox-Miligan’s (Beth Cordingly) aggressive, acerbic demeanour in Emmerdale?

On the face of it, she seems like a gold-digging, bile-spitting savage. And while that’s mostly true, there’s a hidden driving force behind her nasty speak-first-think-later attitude towards anyone who dares enter Caleb’s (Will Ash) world.

Actress Beth Cordingly gives Metro.co.uk a little insight into the inner workings of her character. ‘The only way I can justify her behaviour is that she’s terrified of losing him [Caleb] so she sees [his family] as a threat.

‘But instead of being clever about it and befriending them she keeps insulting [the Dingles] and kicking out against them, which is obviously not going to help.’

There’s another side to her

She manages to surpass even herself sometimes and Nicky (Lewis Cope) is taken aback when he witnesses her going at Nate (Jurell Carter) and showing no gripes about wounding him with her acidic tongue. Vitriol flows from her mouth as easily as champagne flows into her glass.

In fairness to her, Nate started it.

‘It’s this is a classic Ruby trait in that she just goes all Sopranos,’ Beth explains that Ruby acts in defence of her son. ‘She totally goes for Nate and, as always, goes too far. She starts insulting him and saying there’s obviously a reason why Tracy did what she did.’

Caleb hears of this and is not amused at her driving yet another wedge between him and his family, especially as he is on thin ice with his nephew.

But later, Caleb given a big slice of humble pie by a confession between Ruby and Nicky. She offloads to Nicky just how much she gave up to be with his dad – and that she sees his connections with his new Dingle family as a threat to their relationship.

Beth divulges: ‘Caleb’s quite sweet about it and says “She was made to choose,” kind of thing. It isn’t spelled out like this, but the story is I got pregnant with Nicky as a teenager with Caleb and my family made me choose. I have this line where I say “Things were said and we stopped talking to them.”’

She adds that Ruby acts in her own typical style by brushing it off.

‘She treats it like it wasn’t a big deal. She says “I chose you, I chose my family. There was no question. I did it willingly.” She underplays it,’ she says.

It’s a whole insight into Ruby’s character, she’s been made this way by traumas of her past.

Nicky implores Ruby to apologise to Nate, even if it’s only to appease Caleb. She takes his suggestion and Nate graciously accepts. Then the pair realise just how much they have in common with their respective cheating partners, and they start to bond.

It’s a tiny move forward for her as she starts to embrace a small percentage of the Dingle clan.

Caleb is later a little perturbed to find Nate and Ruby having a casual chinwag and wonders what her next game is. But for now, has she got him back wrapped around her little finger?