EastEnders star denies heavily-theorised character death in 40th anniversary disaster

Given that Lytton was only confirmed to be back for a "prolonged stint" in the role and that she has now been cast in a tour of a theatre adaptation of The Girl on the Train, many had been quick to assume that Ruby would be a casualty in the 40th-anniversary episodes – and, coincidentally, as part of the show's ‘ruby’ anniversary.

However, speaking on Morning Live on Tuesday 18th February 2024, Lytton poured cold water on that theory by denying this was the case.

When asked about Ruby’s current love triangle with ex-husband Martin Fowler (James Bye) and her former best pal Stacey Slater (Lacey Turner), Lytton remained coy on plot details.

"It’s really hard for me to say without giving the whole game away," laughed Lytton. "I can’t really say too much but we’ve got some lovely stuff coming up. It’s great, and I love working with Lacey and James. I couldn’t ask for better partnerships in that sense, I’m really fortunate."

Lytton also likened playing Ruby in her different stints to playing a different character due to the different phases of life she is in as both a character and as an actress.

However, when asked about her upcoming stint in theatre, Lytton noted that she started soon but was "that’s not giving anything away, a lot of people think I’m now going out to do a theatre show that the character is dying – but that’s not happening".

Could Lytton be providing a red herring to provide an added shock to viewers, or is this indeed the truth and Ruby won't perish after all?

Another character who fans have begun worrying about is Martin Fowler himself in recent weeks – would EastEnders really kill off the last remaining child of Pauline and Arthur on the show?

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EastEnders airs Monday to Thursday at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer.

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