EastEnders’ Louisa Lytton on Ruby’s baby lie and what the future holds for her and Martin

“There were probably loads of reasons in Ruby’s head as to why she lied to Martin,” she considers, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about reprising the role she first played almost 20 years ago. “She didn’t even tell him she gave birth, which is obviously not the right thing to do – unless you live in a soap! Ruby spent her whole life pretty much on her own after losing her mum, her sister and her dad at a young age. All of her relationships have failed. She ended up pregnant and isolated in prison, and having a child has become her sole purpose.

“Reintroducing Martin into her life could’ve upset her own applecart. Being a mum is what she’s wanted all along but Martin didn’t believe her when she told him about the pregnancy when she got sent to jail three years ago. He forgot about her so she feels totally within her right to move forward without him.”

As for pretending Mr Fowler’s long-lost offspring had been given away, Lytton defends that particular fib and insists it wasn’t as calculated as it seems. “That was quite an off-the-cuff decision, I don’t think she planned to say it. Ruby wasn’t even planning on seeing Martin at all, she only came to Walford to find the birth certificate that Sharon and Phil had stolen as proof her child existed. Faced with all these questions she came up with the adoption lie so she can get back to her son.

“Now we know he’s seriously ill in hospital, Ruby lied to protect her son believing that Martin wanted nothing to do with him. I don’t think she wants to face what’s happened to her child and why he’s in hospital in the first place.”

This latest development puts Ruby’s much-anticipated comeback story on an entirely different, and unexpected, trajectory. While she’s not exactly softened, dealing with her son’s fragile health means we’re dealing with a more emotionally mature Ruby from when we last saw her.

“Having a child has changed her,” explains Lytton. “She’s not the same person people are expecting her to be. I feel like we needed to show Ruby as a well-rounded person, she has heart and compassion and is actually quite a tragic character. When so many sad things happen to somebody it makes you do crazy things and make bad decisions. Ruby being a mum brings a different aspect, ultimately she is still a lost little girl and all she’s striving for is to be loved.”

Ruby was introduced back in 2005 as a shy, sensitive schoolgirl who rejected the criminal lifestyle of her dangerous dad, the notorious Johnny Allen, and became best mates with a teenage Stacey Slater. Her father’s felonies, which had inadvertently caused the deaths of her mum and sister, finally caught up with him and he died in prison in 2006, with grieving Ruby leaving shortly after having fallen out with Stacey – setting something of a pattern for the future.

No one was more surprised than Lytton when EastEnders brought Ruby back in 2018, 12 years after she was written out. The mild-mannered teen had grown up into a hard-as-nails businesswoman, and Lytton stayed until 2021 when she went on maternity leave (she has a three-old daughter, Aura, with husband Ben Bhanvra). She hoped to return again at some point, although she didn’t quite know when.

“I knew there was a huge return storyline ready and waiting with Ruby being pregnant with Martin’s baby,” she recalls. “But there was never really a discussion as to when it would happen. I left with a kind of ‘see you on the other side’ attitude. I had a baby, did some theatre and a few other smaller projects, and when EastEnders got in touch I didn’t hesitate. I felt ready to be back full-time.

“There’s no better time to go back to doing something you’re familiar with then when you have a little one. You know the job and the character, you know how the schedules work. It’s comfortable and you feel more prepared. EastEnders is a very special place, it’s lovely to be here and working with people like Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater) again – I did my very first scene with her in 2005, now we’re still here and both mums!”

Lytton is clearly delighted to be back and genuinely grateful for the unique opportunity to revisit a character she has played, on and off, for over half her life. “It’s funny, people presume I’ve been in EastEnders for about 20 years straight, but when you add up the amount of actual screen time it’s not been that long because I’ve come in and out.

“I went into this world to be a jobbing actor, play different roles and have different experiences, whether it be film, theatre, TV, travelling. With EastEnders I’ve been able to do other things around my stints here, it’s lovely to still be associated with it and come back. It’s been so long it’s like playing a new version of the character every time I’ve come back – Ruby has gone from a girl, to a grown-up to a parent.”

Before streaming changed the TV landscape, EastEnders was still attracting tens of millions of viewers with each terrestrial showing when Lytton joined the cast all those years ago at the tender age of 15. How did it feel to be suddenly thrust into the spotlight?

“I had watched it my whole life, suddenly there I was on Albert Square working with the likes of Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell), who I’m still in awe of today! It was a whirlwind but I loved every second of it.

“Billy Murray (who played Johnny) was brilliant, he really took me under his wing and helped me out. He’d meet up with me and my parents at weekends and go down to Victoria Park in east London, Billy would help me run my lines, he was amazing. I asked our producer if we could bring Johnny Allen back but unfortunately he died on screen, which is a shame. I’m holding out hope it could still happen though!”

Lytton went straight from the Square to Strictly Come Dancing in 2006, making the quarter-finals of the fourth series with professional partner Vincent Simone. She is one of the most fondly-remembered contestants and remains the youngest celebrity to ever take part.

“My dream is they do a Strictly All Stars one day and I can go back! I’d definitely do it again, in fact I’d do it every year if I could. I watch the show with my little girl now and it brings tears to my eyes when I think I was literally a child when I was on it. Now I try to explain to Aura that mummy did that – she looks at me like she can’t believe what I’m saying!”

While Lytton dreams of getting back on the Strictly dance floor one day, for the moment her focus is very much on Ruby’s return to Walford. With so much drama in her first few episodes, the mind boggles as to what’s in store once she’s got her feet under the table. Will Ruby let her defences down and allow Martin to be a dad to their boy?

“We’ll see Ruby is not as proud and stubborn as she once was. In time, she’ll realise Martin is a good person and could be an amazing dad, hopefully she’ll understand it’s about what’s good for her son now and not just about what’s good for her any more. As independent as she is, Ruby desperately needs a support network. The only person other than Martin she has to talk to is Stacey, which shows how alone she is.”

Like many strong female friendships that have come before in EastEnders (Lytton confesses to being a big fan of Tiffany and Bianca in their 1990s heyday), Ruby and Stacey have had their ups and downs – both have framed the other for crimes they didn’t commit for a start – but remain inextricably linked. There’s so much water under the bridge, but does Lytton hold out hope the pair can be mates again?

“It’s very sad, in another life they would’ve been like sisters. Deep down, Ruby wants Stacey to be her rock but she’s messed things up between them so many times because of her self-sabotage and jealousy. Even when they fall out, Ruby still tries to find a way to have Stacey in her life. It’s very strange. She would probably give up being with Martin or any man to have a friendship with Stacey again.

“Lacey and I always joke we’d love Ruby and Stacey to end up like Pat and Peggy one day – frenemies who love each other but hate each other at the same time!”