Celebrity Traitor Ruth Codd on Why She Chose to Amputate Her Second Leg

Celebrity Traitors star Ruth Codd has revealed she decided to have her second leg amputated as she had already had all of her toes removed after her ‘joints were destroyed’ by years of using crutches.

The actress, 29, had her first leg removed six years ago after being left in agonising pain by an injury playing football which failed to heal correctly.

On Wednesday, Ruth revealed she’d had her second leg removed below the knee, as she shared a TikTok video of herself in a wheelchair while staying at her parents house during her recovery.

The star had actually revealed her reasons for the new surgery in an interview two weeks ago, admitting it was to benefit her ‘quality of life’ after already having all her toes removed in 2021 due to the impact of using crutches for eight years.

The Midnight Club star admitted she’d been told by doctors her foot was ‘never going to get any better’ and it has made it ‘more difficult’ for her to work and perform.

She said: ‘It’s just that this foot, I was on crutches for the bones of eight years and the way I used my crutches I was always kind of on my tippy toes, so the joints in my feet were destroyed by the end of the eight years. 

‘And it’s just kind of the same thing, it’s gone past the point where they can kind of do anything about it.

‘I’ve already had to have all my toes amputated. So I’ve no toes, so my foot looks like a little hamburger.’

Speaking on Under The Skin with Grace Neutral, she added: ‘With the second one, it’s just the same situation, it was just my quality of life, it’s never going to get any better from this point, they can only kind of stop it from getting worse, and the amount of health problems and stuff I’ve had in the last year. 

‘I haven’t let it stop me from doing anything. but I feel like it has hindered me and made my ability to do my job more difficult. And I’ve been through it once before, so I think with two prosthetics I’ll be pretty unstoppable.’

Detailing the recovery process, Ruth shared that she’d have to spent at least a month waiting for the limb to heal before she can a prosthetic, but added she’d be using the same surgeon that removed her first leg six years ago. 

She continued: ‘It’s like after you get your leg amputated, you spend about three or four days in hospital. I did the last time, just until they can get the pain under control. 

‘I had a nerve blocker the last time and it didn’t work, so when I woke up I was in loads of pain, but then they got it under control really quickly. So I was able to go home in three or four days.

‘They give you a month or a month and a half for the residual limb to heal.’

Noting that she wouldn’t be able to use a prosthetic for a month, Ruth added: ‘that’s the hardest part of that, that’s what I found the last time, because you’re just kind of in bed, or yeah, you can’t do anything really. 

‘When I got home from hospital, everyone thinks it’d be really sort actually, wasn’t really for me. I know it’s not the same for everyone. For me, my surgeon must have just done quite a good job.’

Ruth had previously shared she’d had her toes removed in a post on Instagram in November 2021, writing: ‘Sorry I disappeared, was busy getting my toes amputated and learning how to crochet.’

On Wednesday, Ruth took to her TikTok to let her fans know she’s had her second leg amputated below the knee, using her typical hilarious humour to deliver the update.

Filming herself from her parent’s house, she addressed her followers: ‘Hi guys. So, I have some good news and some bad news.

‘Good news – we’ve had a full circle moment. I’m back making TikTok content in my parents’ house. Bad news – I can’t do it in front of that lovely blue floral wallpaper any more, due to the fact that that room is upstairs.

‘I’ve just had my second below-knee amputation. So, unfortunately, those facilities are not available to me at the current moment in time. So a lot to unpack there for everyone involved.’

While Ruth didn’t elaborate on the reason she’d undergone the operation, she panned the camera to show off her new wheelchair, who she’s affectionately nicknamed ‘Fat Tony’.

She joked: ‘This is my new whip! I like to call her Fat Tony. She has the top speed of f*** all, especially if there’s a step involved.’

While in the caption, she quipped: ‘No legs who dis? #paralympics2026’.

The Irish star was flooded with supportive messages from her fans, causing her to jokily respond: ‘Guys stop being nice to me it’s weirding me out’.

But others couldn’t help but laugh over the fact that the TikTok captions on the video had incorrectly subtitled Ruth saying ‘below-knee amputation’ as ‘bologna amputation’.

Adopting her characteristically witty style, they commented: ‘sorry to hear about your second bologna’; ‘I am not not cackling at bologna amputation.’; ‘In fairness I’ve never liked bologna.’ 

While others joked: ‘ook babes, we all want a second season of Midnight Club– but taking the 2nd leg is a bit far’. 

And several followers also joked that her nemesis from Celebrity Traitors, Jonathan Ross, was to blame.

Ruth took part in the first series of the hit show earlier this year, but she ended up being the third contestant to be murdered by The Traitors in the fourth episode.

She was sent packing after she correctly identified Jonathan as a Traitor at the roundtable, causing the chat show host and his accomplices, Alan Carr and Cat Burns, to kill her off.

One fan quipped: ‘Presumably we’re blaming Jonathan Ross for this yes? Was the leg traumatised by the promise of an alliance and then removal of said alliance?’

In response to one cheeky comment asking: ‘Ruth you gotta tell us which Paralympic event you’re participating in so we can tune in’, Ruth quipped back: ‘rhythmic gymnastics’. 

Her The Fall of the House of Usher co-star Rahul Kohli, also got in on the fun, writing: ‘Excuses, excuses’ prompting Ruth to hit back: ‘How do I block someone twice?’

Ruth previously explained that as the nerve pain worsened over years, so did her mental health, as her ‘whole life revolved around trying to heal my leg’.

She told the Irish Examiner: ‘For years, I didn’t see it getting any better. I was stuck in a really bad mindset and I was p****d off at life.’

After repeated failed surgeries, she made the decision to amputate her right leg, saying: ‘It took eight years of my life, constantly going in and out of hospital.

‘When I made the decision to amputate it, things finally started to turn around. It was a relief. I could get on my life.’

Ruth came to fame after beginning to post on TikTok during the Covid pandemic, making both comedic content and videos focusing on disability awareness.

Through the platform she was discovered by the casting team of the Netflix mystery thriller series The Midnight Club, and was cast to play Anya with no previous acting experience.

She then went on to star as Juno Usher in Netflix horror miniseries, The Fall of the House of Usher, which was released in 2023 to critical acclaim.