Ruby reaches a shock conclusion in early Emmerdale ITVX release

Ruby and Caleb Miligan learnt the truth about their daughter (Picture: ITV)

The following article contains spoilers from an episode of Emmerdale that hasn’t aired on ITV1 yet, but can be viewed on ITVX.

It was Caleb Miligan’s (William Ash) birthday in tonight’s episode of Emmerdale, but Steph (Georgia Jay) had no intention of celebrating with him.

Yesterday, Steph met with a surgeon to discuss plastic surgery. The character has been overwhelmed in recent weeks, struggling to process the news about Anthony Fox.

The connection Steph shares with Anthony has left her utterly convinced that his face is the only thing she can see when she looks in the mirror. She concluded that physically changing her appearance would be the only way to rid her of those reminders.

Steph thinks changing her appearance will help her process the revelations about Anthony (Picture: ITV)

Of course, Steph knew that telling the doctor exactly why she wanted the nose job wouldn’t get her very far. She spun a story about how she was relentlessly bullied at school, which led to the surgeon saying she could have the operation.

She then returned home and lied to Caleb and Ruby (Beth Cordingly), explaining she was off to see her friend abroad tomorrow.

Because Steph had to be nil by mouth, she caused a few issues the morning of Caleb’s birthday. She was reluctant to eat anything, and refused to take part in a family selfie, not wanting to see her reflection.

Caleb explained a small portion of the truth (Picture: ITV)

Just as Steph left, protective Caleb wasted no time in trying to track Steph’s flight, but realised she hadn’t given him the right number.

Opening up her laptop to try and get the right one, Caleb and Ruby found an email from the hospital on Steph’s device. It mentioned rhinoplasty, allowing them to put two and two together and realise what was going on.

At the hospital, after a confrontation, Caleb told the surgeon that Ruby was raped and became pregnant with Steph, but didn’t say it was Anthony.

Because Steph had lied to the surgeon, going ahead with the operation and knowing the truth would be completely unethical. He announced it was cancelled and sent Steph home.

There, as Steph made a phone call hoping to move the date of her brow lift op, Ruby made a conclusion. She told Caleb that their daughter needs professional help, because what they are doing isn’t enough.

Caleb pointed out that allowing Steph to talk to a therapist is full of risks. Depending on her state of mind, Steph could reveal the truth about Anthony, causing that well-kept secret to explode and put multiple lives in jeopardy.

Ruby isn’t wrong though. Steph does need help from a qualified health professional – but will they take the chance, knowing what could happen?