Emmerdale's Caleb Milligan (William Ash) and Ruby Fox-Miligan (Beth Cordingly) have a strange love story. They care for each other deeply, but have also betrayed each other. In 2024, Caleb claimed to be estranged from Ruby while having an affair with Tracy Robinson. Ruby then exposed his philandering publicly.
A marriage tested by secrets
Later, when Ruby's estranged mother Helen was on her deathbed, Caleb accepted a £100,000 bribe from her to convince Ruby to visit. Helen died before Ruby could see her, and Caleb kept the money. Despite threats of divorce and revenge plots, the pair have a healthy marriage and support each other. Ruby recently destroyed vital CCTV evidence to frame Caleb's business partner (Ned Porteous) for an attack on Billy Fletcher (Jay Kontzle).
William Ash, who plays Caleb, believes the couple are solid now. He said: 'I think they can trust each other. It's other people that they don't trust. I think something might happen that way. There might be.'
The impact of Ruby's father's death
Their relationship's strength comes from the death of Ruby's father Anthony, who sexually abused Ruby when she was 14 and got her pregnant with her daughter Steph. Ruby suffocated her father, and Caleb helped cover up the murder.
'Caleb had had affairs before all the Anthony stuff, but since that all came out I think their relationship is proper solid now,' Will said. 'And I think Caleb appreciates Ruby and their relationship much more than he did. How much she sacrificed for him, because he didn't know any of that stuff. Whereas, when he'd been in care growing up, and she'd fallen for him as kids and their relationship was formed out of that, I think he's taken it for granted. So all the Anthony stuff has made them really solid. So, I think they do trust each other now. I think she trusts him, but it might be somebody else coming out that might cause a bit of trouble…'
A looming threat
That 'somebody' could be Billy's real attacker, Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill). Kev clobbered Billy because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, while trying to stop his friend Steve from robbing the haulage depot. Caleb wants to frame Joe, so it's not in his interests for Kev to come forward. But Kev is unpredictable.
'I think they just don't know how to handle him, like most people in the village,' Will said. 'He's such a loose cannon, you just don't know what you're going to get from him. I think Ruby thinks she can probably outmaneuver him, and Caleb thinks she has done, but when it comes down to it, he's that much of a weapon, you just can't combat it, can you?'
Will also praised Ruby's scheming abilities, comparing her to Lady Macbeth. 'She is!' Will agreed. 'Beth [Cordingley] references that quite a lot, when we're chatting about stuff. She is the brains behind certain decisions they make sometimes. He's a successful business man and all that, so he does know what he's doing, but she does pour things into his ear sometimes.'
What's next
With Joe's wedding approaching, Caleb and Ruby have sinister plans. Their meddling could make Joe more dangerous. 'I think it will probably end up being all out war again,' Will said. 'I think Caleb is well up for it and prepared for the fall out of what he's done. He's ready for it and whatever comes back down to him.'
