Beth Cordingly ‘beside herself’ as real life partner and Emmerdale legend announces new job

Emmerdale’s Beth Cordingly has reacted to the news her partner – and former star of the soap – has secured a new acting role.

Beth, who plays Ruby Fox-Miligan in the show, is in a relationship with Ian Kelsey, who portrayed Kim Tate’s (Claire King) love interest Dave Glover in the 90s.

The couple have been together for over three years, with Beth previously stating that Ian was ‘really supportive’ when she landed the role of Ruby on the long-running serial drama, and they often enjoy sharing updates about their life together on social media.

Recently, the soap actress took to Instagram to reveal her reaction to Ian’s next job – and she cannot wait!

‘Literally beside myself with excitement over Ian Kelsey’s next job’, she wrote in the caption.

‘From Feb 5th 2025…he’s Nikos in MAMMA MIA THE PARTY AT THE O2. I know. Beyond. WE LOVE IAN KELSEY AND WE LOVE ABBA. To recap we’re talking @iankelseyofficial – (gorgeous) ABBA (amaze), a Greek taverna (lusho) AND RED WINE…Perfection. Yes f*g please. He will be brilliant. It will be sublime. I’ll see you there.’

‘This is the coolest thing ever!’, Eden Taylor-Draper wrote in the comments section, echoing everyone’s thoughts.

A few days ago, Ian took to Instagram himself to share thoughts on the recent storyline development in Emmerdale, which saw Beth’s character Ruby sleep with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley).

Beth has been playing Ruby since the start of this year (Picture: ITV)

In response to a comment from a fan, who asked him to ‘keep an eye on Ruby and Cain’, Ian said:

‘Tell me about it! I’ve been watching from China well, not watching, because I covered my eyes at that bit but…’, the actor then pointed to his eyes and then the camera, joking that he’ll be keeping a watchful eye over the two characters.

Beth has also shared her disbelief over Ruby and Cain sleeping together.

‘I know, it’s bad innit? It’s really bad,’ she said in a social media video last week.

‘What’s going to happen when Moira finds out? I’m scared! And Caleb. Moira’s probably more scary.’ 

She continued: ‘When they told me in the storyline meeting that was going to happen, I literally went like this, “Arrrrghhhhhh!”’. Beth captioned the post: ‘Tonight’s episode. I KNOW. #notagoodidea’.