EastEnders must fix one key thing with Ruby Allen’s return | Soaps

The iconic EastEnders comebacks just keep rolling in, with Ruby Allen poised to cause chaos in Walford once again. 

The character’s story had been left unfinished, so Louisa Lytton’s return to the role is welcome news. We just hope the BBC soap can make amends for previously letting Ruby down in one crucial way. 

In the months leading up to Ruby’s exit in 2021, she suffered two miscarriages, and was diagnosed with endometriosis – a debilitating condition which can affect fertility and includes symptoms such as severe period pain, heavy periods, anxiety and fatigue. 

When the storyline first materialised, it was superbly portrayed by Louisa, and had the power to make a lasting impact. But sadly, EastEnders prioritised Ruby’s villain era instead, turning viewers firmly against the character.

Ruby’s medical struggles were sidelined, prompting us to question why they ever arose in the first place if there was never going to be extended screen-time on the subject. Chronic health is still largely overlooked in the world of soap, and did not deserve to be overshadowed. 

There was, at least, some remorse from Ruby – it merely came too little, too late for the audience. As she was taken away by the police, Ruby’s last minute declaration, that she was again pregnant with then-husband Martin Fowler’s (James Bye) baby, was shrouded in mystery. 

Three years later, EastEnders is still teasing whether or not she will pitch up in Albert Square with a mini Fowler. Ruby may have lied about it before, but given her subsequent experience of pregnancy loss, it would now feel unrealistic if she were revealed to be fibbing again.

We crave the drama that Ruby’s presence will surely bring, and we certainly don’t want her to slip back in quietly. Give us the showdown that Stacey earned after her wrongful imprisonment at Ruby’s hands, and let Ruby give as good as she gets.

But EastEnders now has the opportunity to balance Ruby’s feisty side with exploring a long-term, incurable condition. She can still be the strong, sassy and downright catty character we’ve come to know, just not at the expense of providing some much sought-after representation. 

The only way to do this properly is by carefully drip-feeding us any calculated moves from Ruby, rather than billing her as a merciless baddie. 

Now, it’s no surprise that Ruby has darkness in her blood – her dad was, after all, crime boss Johnny Allen (Billy Murray). But running her evil streak alongside her struggle with endometriosis was a big mistake. We simply couldn’t empathise with Ruby when we were too busy willing on her comeuppance, and this is exactly what went wrong. 

Louisa excelled as the powerhouse businesswoman who inherited her father’s ruthless streak; but Ruby wasn’t built to be a consistent villain, like bad penny Janine Butcher (Charlie Brooks) or menacing abuser Nish Panesar (Navin Chowdhry).

Indeed, we got an all-too-brief glimpse of the vulnerability Ruby brought in when she first appeared in 2005, which should have paved the way for Ruby coming to terms with her diagnosis, expanding on those raw moments of turmoil that were so few and far between. 

Every conflicting side of Ronnie was able to flourish right up until her untimely death, while Ruby never got the chance to do so – until now. 

We at least know she has unresolved feelings about her lost relatives, so finally allowing Ruby to let her guard down will help viewers identify with her, even if they can’t quite forgive her misdeeds. 

This is what EastEnders must focus on when she settles back in – not a brand new web of sinister lies. It simply wouldn’t make sense to gloss over Ruby’s condition and we have faith that the show, in its current glorious form, will agree.

We don’t just want to know if Ruby became a mother in her absence, whether prison changed her for worse or for better and what her motives are – we want to see and hear how she copes with her condition day-by-day. 

Sufferers of endometriosis, and several other chronic conditions, need to see their experiences on-screen, unfiltered and central to the action. Show us Ruby battling through extreme exhaustion and doubling over with intense period pain, just as so many women do every single day. 

Ruby’s story has been missing a chapter, and EastEnders may not owe her a redemption arc – but it does owe her a sense of agency over her health.

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