Emmerdale’s Beth Cordingly Faces Tough Future Decision Amid Soap Awards Nod

She’s up for two gongs at this year’s British Soap Awards. 

But Emmerdale star Beth Cordingly, 48, is facing a major dilemma that could shape her future on the show.

Although she’s only been on the ITV soap for 18 months, Beth has already made a lasting impression as fiery Ruby Fox-Miligan. 

Her powerful performances have earned her nominations for Best Leading Performer and Best On-Screen Partnership with William Ash, who plays her on-screen husband, Caleb Miligan.

Beth’s turn as the bold and unpredictable Ruby has clearly resonated with audiences and critics alike. But despite her success, she admitted she’s torn about staying on. 

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In a recent interview with The Mirror, she said: ‘The problem is, I never intended to do more than a year.

She added: ‘I took the job for lots of reasons. When my daughter and I decided I would take the job, I didn’t know I would fall in love with it the way I have.

‘I don’t know if Emmerdale Village is built on a ley line or something but there is something really magical about that place.’ 

When she was first offered the role, Beth hesitated, concerned about the commute from her home in Brighton to the set in Leeds. 

She turned to her daughter for advice, and together they agreed she’d take the role for just 12 months. However, that deadline has now come and gone.

Elsewhere in the interview, Beth revealed she was ‘blown away’ by her Best Leading Performer nomination and said she was ‘really chuffed’ to be one of four women nominated – alongside Emmerdale co-star Eden Taylor-Draper and favourites Kellie Bright and Lacey Turner.   

As for working with Will, she couldn’t wish for a better on-screen husband as she praised him highly and said she feels ‘incredibly lucky’ to work alongside him. 

When she first auditioned, Beth knew Ruby was going to be a troublemaker, but she had no idea about her trauma or the repercussions the storyline would unleash. 

But the promise of tension and drama was what made her pitch hard for the role in the Yorkshire-based soap, despite living in Brighton with her 11-year-old daughter. 

Her reasons for doing so were mainly because she wanted to be a character who ‘drives the drama’ rather than a ‘reactive’ one. 

Off-screen, Beth is in a happy relationship with actor Ian Kelsey, 58, a familiar face to Emmerdale fans as Dave Glover, who was killed off in 1996. 

The couple have been together for four years, and Beth often credits Ian with giving her the confidence to take bold steps in her career. 

She claimed it’s ‘no coincidence’ that her career has gone on a new trajectory since she got together with Ian four years ago. But she revealed she’s often warned against dating a fellow actor.

She revealed some people would say “Oh God, I’d never go out with an actor” and said there’s a running joke among actors where they will often say, “Is your partner an actor or a normal person?” 

However, she feels ‘lucky’ to be with someone where there is ‘zero jealousy’ and only support. 

Beth is no stranger to soaps, she broke through in Family Affairs and then became a regular on The Bill. 

She even had a brief stint on EastEnders as Shirley Carter’s cellmate. But for Beth, Emmerdale is in a league of its own. 

She praised the show’s tight-knit culture, saying there’s no divide between cast and crew, something she hasn’t always experienced elsewhere.

Still, despite her love for the show, Beth has no plans to relocate permanently to Yorkshire as Brighton, where she grew up and now raises her daughter, as it still feels like home. 

And although she spends a lot of time thinking about moving up to Leeds, she loves the fact her daughter is growing up where she did, by the sea and beach.