Emmerdale was right to do Ruby’s storyline, but it it is a painful watch

Emmerdale revealed the truth about Ruby and her relationship with her sinister father in tonight’s episode – and it was pretty shocking.

In a series of flashbacks to Ruby’s 16th birthday viewers saw the reason for Ruby’s extreme reaction to her dad’s return to her life. It turned out poor Ruby was a victim of sexual violence by her father and suddenly her panic attacks and struggle to cope with her dad’s presence made sense.

Flashbacks to the past

The episode was cleverly done – swapping between the Dingles gathering for Cain’s 50th celebrations and flashbacks to Ruby’s 16th birthday.

At first, viewers were led to believe that Ruby’s old friend Rob could have been involved in her trauma. Anthony pointed him out in the photograph of the party and asked Ruby if she was sorry they’d lost touch.

“He was one of the good ones,” Ruby commented.

Emmerdale Ruby was struggling

As the episode went on, it was clear Ruby was struggling. Despite her slapping on a brave face and forcing herself along to Cain’s party, it was obvious she wasn’t comfortable.

And when the flashbacks revealed more, we could see why. It turned out, Rob was gay and only a friend to Ruby. It was Anthony who was the real predator.

In the present day, he clocked the tension between Cain and Ruby, and realised what had happened, making barbed comments to his distressed daughter.

The flashback was even more upsetting as after the party, Anthony came into Ruby’s bedroom and told her that her mum – Helen – had gone round to a friend’s.

Clearly frightened, Ruby begged her father not to do it again as he came towards her…

A dark twist

Back in the present day, there was a grim moment as Anthony toasted Steph and told Caleb very pointedly that he was lucky Steph was his daughter. WHAT did he mean by that? Is he Steph’s father?

This storyline is one of the darkest in Emmerdale’s history – and if it turns Anthony is both Steph’s grandfather and father, then it’s unprecedented in soap.

There have been family s.e.x.u.a.l abuse stories in soaps before, going right back to Brookside’s Beth Jordache’s ordeal at the hands of father Trevor, and Mandy Richardson in Hollyoaks being abused by her dad, Dennis.

Since then we’ve seen Emmerdale’s Aaron Dingle face his abusive dad Gordon in court, and Paul Foreman deal with his grooming by his stepdad Kel Hinchley in Coronation Street.

Plus Hollyoaks recently tackled sibling sexual abuse with JJ and Frankie.

But it feels like Emmerdale is breaking new ground with this story.

A tricky one for Emmerdale to tackle – and for Ruby

There is no doubt that Beth Cordingly, who plays Ruby, and Nicholas Day, AKA Anthony, have the acting chops to pull this storyline off.

Beth Cordingly has already made us so invested in Ruby’s past – brilliantly portraying her alter ego as damaged and vulnerable as well as brash and confident.

And yet – there’s something about this storyline that leaves us a little uncomfortable.

We’ve been watching soaps for a long time. We know they handle tricky topics sensitively and carefully, and play a huge role in raising awareness and sharing messages.

Emmerdale in particular has managed to pull off huge stunts, shocking stories and dramatic confrontations before the watershed.

But in this case, this storyline is very grim, very dark, and possibly more suited to a late-night gritty drama than primetime soap.

We’ve got faith in Emmerdale’s writers, actors and crew but this will be a tricky story to get right. We’ll wait and see what happens next.