Ruby Allen made her first appearance on 18 March 2005 and last appearance on 17 September 2021. She is portrayed by Louisa Lytton and is the daughter of gangland kingpin Johnny Allen. She is also the ex-wife of Martin Fowler, and the mother of their child.
Storylines[]
2005-2006[]
Ruby Allen arrives in Walford, having run away from boarding school to look for her father - Johnny Allen. On her arrival, she is befriended by Stacey Slater, who grills Ruby about her family. After storming out of the café, where they are talking, she is mugged by a vagrant in Bridge Street, who grabs hold of Ruby's coat and steals her mobile phone. She is then almost run over by a taxi. Ruby feels that Johnny is pushing her away and reminds him that he only saved her by accident when their house caught fire. He was actually trying to save her sister, Scarlet, as the latter and their mother Stephanie had both died in the fire - which occurred a year ago in March 2004. Ruby soon learns that Johnny has a mistress Tina Stewart - the woman who had almost run her over - and initially disapproves of their relationship, but slowly begins to warm up to Tina. She is later excited with the prospect of Tina marrying her father, but her mood changed when she and Tina each learn about Johnny's true character; his old acquaintance Peggy Mitchell reveals that Johnny is a violent bully, a thief, extorter, and most likely a murderer as well. Ruby confronts him and he denies it. When she learns that Peggy was telling the truth about Johnny, she leaves her father and - after initially residing with Stacey - stays with Peggy at the house owned by her and Johnny's common friend, Pat Evans.
Sometime later, Ruby catches Johnny having an affair with Amy while he is engaged to Tina. She tells Tina about what she found out and Tina confronts Johnny, before later departing the square in disgust - which subsequently leads to Ruby disowning her father. However, she later grows concerned over the way how both her father and Stacey are facing similar encounters with Peggy's two thuggish sons Phil and Grant over an ongoing situation; Phil and Grant's younger sister, Sam, was framed by her nemesis Chrissie Watts for her crime of killing the latter's husband Den. Up to the point where Stacey's relative, Zoe, ended up fleeing the square due to her contribution before both Stacey and Johnny themselves discovered the truth about Den's murder. It was at this point where Ruby supported Stacey and her cousin, Kat, over the situation, whilst also expressing worry that her father would get hurt by Phil and Grant. Eventually, Ruby went to visit Johnny at his nightclub - only to find him ready to shoot Phil and Grant following his brawl with the brothers. She convinced him to put the gun down and, by the time Chrissie was arrested and Sam is released from prison, they eventually made amends.
Ruby soon moves back in with Johnny and they rebuild their relationship, which was soon tested again when she began dating the square's local waiter - Juley Smith. Soon enough, Ruby loses her virginity to Juley and their passionate relationship starts to grow romantic. Johnny doesn't take kindly to this, as he has already warned Juley about Ruby. She initially defends Juley and even turns against her dad for him, but Ruby soon learns Juley was in fact being paid by Phil to sleep with her - as part of his own feud with Johnny. She soon reacts by getting drunk and collapsing on the floor. Phil, who has broken into Johnny's house to have it out with him, takes her to hospital. Juley attempts to get Ruby back, and she eventually agrees to try again. However, she realises that she couldn't trust him when she found herself questioning his phone calls.
On the second anniversary of her sister and mother's coincidental deaths, during the Get Johnny Week scenario, Ruby discovers that her father was an alcoholic and she left him to Phil and Grant - who have both abruptly turned up to confront Johnny for ordering the death of Den's illegitimate son Dennis Rickman, who had recently married his adopted sister and the Mitchell Brothers' ex-common lover Sharon. While Phil confronted Johnny over Dennis' murder, Grant kept watch over Ruby and they proceeded to have a heart-to-heart over their own family troubles - up to the point where Ruby comforts Grant when he opens up about how the death of his former wife, Tiffany, has left him parenting their daughter, Courtney, on his own without her mother. Shortly afterward, Ruby confides in Grant about how Phil paid Juley to sleep with her. Outraged, Grant furiously burst into Johnny's office just as Phil begins throttling him to face justice for Dennis's murder. This gives Johnny a chance to get away. There is a big chase, which results in Johnny's henchman Danny Moon handcuffing the brothers and marching them into the forest. He is about to kill Grant when Danny's brother Jake intervened and shot Danny instead - accidentally killing his brother as a result, which allowed Phil and Grant to go and confront Johnny once more. But just before they could do that, Ruby discovers her father's role in Dennis' murder and confronts Johnny with an ultimatum; either he turns himself into the police or she will change her name to ensure that her father is out of her life for good. Choosing with the former, Johnny is arrested for his gangland activities - including the murders of both Dennis and his best-friend Andy Hunter - and sentenced to life imprisonment. In the wake of this, Ruby returns to Walford with Jake. She later finds out about Jake killing Danny and confronts him about it, which threatens their unlikely bond at first. It soon becomes clear that Jake is obsessed with Ruby's welfare, but he then resolves to takeover the managing of her club until she turned 18 in October. Ruby withdraws £2000 for a holiday but decides to return it and is mugged by Juley.
By the time her eighteenth birthday had emerged, Ruby was in a relationship Stacey's brother Sean - up to the point where he and Jake become business partners and sworn enemies. As Ruby ends up defending Sean against Jake on numerous occasions, the latter alerts Johnny of the situation and he requests Ruby to visit him. When Ruby does visit her father in prison, he questions her about Sean and agrees to meet him in person. However, Sean's visit to Johnny in prison ended in tragedy for Ruby; her father - after being taunted by Sean over his plan to exploit Ruby for their financial assets - died of a heart attack amid trying to have Sean killed. Not long after discovering this, Jake leaves the square and Sean feigns comfort towards Ruby over her father's sudden death. On the day of Johnny's funeral, Ruby goes missing and Sean finds her - with Ruby having slumped behind the desk in the Scarlet office, with a bottle of vodka. Later, she speaks to Pat and listens to her viewpoint that her father was normally right about people - including Jake and Sean. Ruby later left Walford in the back of a cab, having fallen out with Stacey once again.
2018-2021[]
Ruby returns to Walford and reunites with Stacey. Ruby attends the school reunion of Stacey's husband, Martin Fowler, where Ruby flirts with Martin's friend Ross Swinden. The next day, Ruby tells Stacey that she went back to Ross' house afterwards and had sex with him, but woke up with Martin's other friend, Matt Clarkson, on top of her. Stacey tells Ruby that she was raped by Matt and eventually Ruby reports this to the police. Ruby moves into a flat on Albert Square. A photograph emerges of Ruby kissing Matt in the club the night before and Ruby is devastated when the police receive it. However, both Matt and Ross are charged with rape. It is then reported in the local newspaper, though none of the people involved are named, but Ruby starts to get tagged in online photos taken in E20 that night with comments implying Ruby's rape allegation is false. Ruby suffers from online bullying, and considers dropping the case altogether. She eventually continues with it, and goes on several dates with Jay Brown. She struggles to open up to him because of her experiences.
In February 2019, Ruby is hosting a party for Habiba and Iqra Ahmed to coincide with the opening of their restaurant. She feels sorry for Mel Owen following her son Hunter's prison sentencing, and encourages her to come along. The night goes smoothly, until the police turn up and arrest Ruby for sexual assault on her former employee Blake Turner. After she is arrested on suspicion of sexual assault on Blake, they meet to discuss what happened. She says they had consensual sex but he says that as she was his boss, when she came onto him at the office Christmas party, he felt obliged to have sex with her and then date her for fear of being sacked, which he was when their relationship ended. She says she had to sack someone and he was not up to the job and she asks if this accusation is revenge for her firing him. He admits he was bad at the job but says that was why he had to go along with her advances. He leaves but she follows him and asks if someone put him up to the accusation, as her rapists are due in court soon. He says his girlfriend did, as she helped him see what happened for what it really was. He says she has to realise that she cannot get away with what she said, so she apologises and says she didn't know that he did not want to have sex with her. She tells him to do what he feels is right. However, Ruby later finds out that Blake has dropped the allegation.
Ruby's trial is coming up, and she begins to fear that it will not deliver justice. She thinks about how her father might handle the situation, and decides to try for revenge. She lures Matt and Ross back to the Square by pretending to be another girl. Ross comes to her apartment, and while confronting him, she manages to drug him. Meanwhile, Ross has sent Matt a picture of Ruby along with the message "Round Two?" The message is seen by Martin, who is catching up with Matt at the time, and finally realises that what Ruby said is true. He and Stacey rush to Ruby's apartment, where she is preparing to castrate Ross. They convince her to trust in the Courts, and Martin suggests that they hand Ross' phone in to the police, as it contains incriminating text messages between Ross and Matt. Ruby decides against this, knowing that it would also incriminate her for what she tried to do to Ross. The trial proceeds, and is an emotional experience for both Ruby and Stacey, who support each other throughout. Matt eventually breaks on the stand, admitting that he does not know whether Ruby had consented or not. Matt and Ross are found guilty and sentenced to ten years in prison. After Stacey encourages her to move on with her life, Ruby decides to start a relationship with Jay. Whilst Ruby and Jay are on and off, Jay's ex-girlfriend Lola Pearce returns to Walford and almost begins a relationship with him. Billy convinces Ruby to let Lola work with her and Ruby agrees, not knowing about her identity. They struggle to get on and Ruby eventually sacks her. Ruby is reunited with Sean at The Queen Victoria public house and she slaps him as revenge for throwing her father's ashes in her face.
In the summer, Ruby starts dating Max Branning. Max wanted their relationship to be kept a secret from Stacey, but Ruby was unaware as to why. One evening, Stacey delivers some food to his doorstep, but is gobsmacked to find Ruby with him. Max then decides to tell Ruby about his sexual past with Stacey, and she is left stunned, but decides to stay with him. Stacey starts to feel betrayed by Ruby for sleeping with Max, but their friendship is not affected. Max and Ruby's relationship doesn't survive however, with Max confessing to her that he was going through a "midlife crisis". However, they later reunite.
In November 2019, Mel decides to sell her half of E20, and offers Ruby the chance to buy both hers and Sharon Watts' shares. Mel's blackmail of Sharon over her affair with and pregnancy by Keanu Taylor ensures Sharon reluctantly sells to Ruby. However, Ruby is concerned about Mel's mental health and assures Lisa Fowler that she will only buy the club from Mel if she is definitely in a fit state to sell, which she eventually does, renaming the club "Ruby's". Ruby later sleeps with Martin and tells Max straight away, explaining that they are in an open relationship. Ruby befriends Whitney Dean during Stacey's absence, and Ruby is shocked by Whitney's talent of dress-making. Whitney explains to Ruby how her ex-boyfriend Leo King had locked her in a hotel room when she discovered his true identity. Ruby has a heart-to-heart with Whitney and encourages her to feel less sympathetic towards him. Ruby later lets Dotty Cotton and Vinny Panesar deal NOS canisters on the club premises.
Ruby hires Martin as the new bouncer of her club, making Max jealous. As Ruby and Martin become closer, Ruby leaves Max. She later begins a relationship with Martin and is shocked to find that somebody is stealing her money. Due to financial difficulty, Ruby stages a robbery with Vinny which results in Martin being seriously injured by Vinny. Ruby discovers that Stacey is the culprit behind her missing money; as revenge against Ruby for dating Martin, and she plans to report her to the police, but is stopped by Martin who only wants Stacey to stay, so he can see his children.
Soon after in October 2020, Ruby and Martin announce their marriage, much to the shock of Stacey. Ruby hosts a celebration at E20 and forces Stacey to join, leading to a confrontation when Ruby continues to belittle Stacey. They almost make amends until Stacey's daughter, Lily Slater, reveals all the horrible things that Stacey had said about Ruby. Upset, Ruby arranges for Stacey to be attacked by a hooded figure outside E20. Ruby and Stacey's rivalry continues when Ruby is jealous that Martin is spending Christmas Day with Stacey and the Slaters. Unbeknown to Ruby, Stacey makes a pass at Martin but is rejected. A jealous Ruby accuses Stacey of plotting to win back Martin and warns her to stay away.
During a conversation with Martin's friend Kush, he tells Ruby that Stacey is still interested in Martin and is scheming to win him back. As revenge on New Years Eve, Ruby offers Kush money to run away with his and Stacey's son, Arthur. She then claims to be pregnant so to keep Martin with her. In February 2021, Stacey discovers that Ruby was the perpetrator behind the robbery, Stacey's attack and Kush taking Arthur, which leads to a confrontation at the club where Ruby finds out she really is pregnant. Days later, Ruby and Martin want to take the kids on holiday, making Stacey angry about the lack of communication and worried if the kids will not return to her.
After visiting a clinic and stealing another woman's baby scan to protect her lies, Ruby suffers a miscarriage. During a further confrontation with Stacey at the club, she trips and falls on the stairs. She uses the fall as the explanation for losing the baby and accuses Stacey of pushing her. Finding CCTV footage from the club which appears to show this happening, she deletes the footage from another camera showing the truth and presents it to the police. Jean Slater tries to persuade her to drop the charges, telling her that she has terminal cancer and may not live to see Stacey released, but Ruby presses ahead regardless. Stacey is subsequently convicted of assault and sentenced to a year in prison.
Her children end up having to move in with Ruby and Martin because Jean is very stressed, and Ruby uses them regularly to get out of difficult situations, such as Lily as she knows the lies about Ruby, so in revenge cuts up Ruby's mum's wedding dress. Ruby and Martin continue trying for a baby, but she learns that she has endometriosis which could affect her fertility. After suffering a second miscarriage, Jean offers support to Ruby and the pair begin to grow close. Isaac Baptiste, who is suffering from schizophrenia, becomes obsessed with Ruby, convinced that her father was responsible for his brother Paul Trueman's death and that she is covering it up. Ruby's guilt over sending Stacey to prison increases as she and Jean spend time together, and she starts sending large amounts of money to Jean to support her.
During an appointment she finally confesses the truth to Jean, and she warns Ruby that she needs to confess the truth to Martin or she will. Ruby subsequently discovers that Jean has a cannabis farm in her garage that was set up by Big Mo before she left and tips off the police, leading to her arrest before she can tell Martin the truth. However, Martin discovers the lies after Lily is caught with weed and knowing about suspecting Jean's cancer is back. Martin visits Stacey in prison and learns about much of Ruby's deceit and is ordered to sort Ruby out or she will kill her.
When he confronts her about it, she confesses everything to him including the robbery and about how she manipulated Martin by making him on her side and how to silence Stacey, Kush and Lily but also reveals that she is pregnant again, but Martin doesn't believe her as he encourages her to go to the police station with him but tries to get off going. But Jean turns the tables and accuses Ruby of being behind the cannabis farm and threatening her but Ruby is arrested after drugs are found in the house. She later sells the house, applies for a divorce from Martin and leaves him and the kids homeless, without a job and all bank accounts shut down. She leaves the clubs running to Dotty Cotton.
In 2022, Ruby gives birth off-screen. She also decides to sell Ruby's, initially to Jonah Tyler before Sam Mitchell outbuys him.
Kill count[]
Attempted murder victims[]
- Ross Swinden (18 March 2019) (by Proxy) - Paid Phil Mitchell to have Ross and Matt killed as revenge for raping her but Phil refuses.
- Matt Clarkson (18 March 2019) (by Proxy) - Paid Phil Mitchell to have Ross and Matt killed as revenge for raping her but Phil refuses.
- Ross Swinden (21 March 2019) - Drugs his drink and plans to kill him but is stopped by Stacey and Martin.
Resident history[]
Address | Years |
---|---|
5 Albert Square | 2005-2006 |
Unnamed Essex mansion | Unknown-2005, 2006 |
Unknown | 2006-2018 |
5B Albert Square | 2018-2020 |
43 Albert Square | 2020-2021 |
Prison | 2021 to present |
Quotes[]
First: "Are you from round here? I'm try'na find Turpin Road, Walford.", said to Stacey Slater on 18 March 2005.
Last: "What you lookin' at?!", said to a taxi driver on 23 November 2006.
First: "Not even one little drink, then?", said to Stacey Fowler on 18 September 2018.
Last: "Martin. Please. Please!", said to Martin Fowler on 17 September 2021.