Emmerdale actress Beth Cordingly shared an emotional message on social media on Tuesday

An Emmerdale star has spoken out about a tragedy as she said, “It’s devastating”.

Beth Cordingly, the 49-year-old actress who portrays Ruby Miligan on the ITV soap, took to Instagram on Tuesday (December 30) to look back on her festive period.

She uploaded clips of herself alongside her partner Ian Kelsey, a former Dales star, as they braved cold water swimming along Brighton’s shoreline.

“This was (part of) our Christmas. When in Brighton… We go in every year. It’s a tradition,” the caption began.

Discussing a heartbreaking incident that had occurred previously, Beth confessed: “But we didn’t go in very far this year because it was rough. And I didn’t want to post this at the time because of the absolutely tragic circumstances where some people lost their lives swimming in Devon on Christmas Day,” reports the Daily Star.

Beth Cordingly shared an update on social media (Image: Instagram/@beth_cordingly)

“It’s devastating beyond words how quickly joy and fun can change to disaster and my heart and thoughts are with their families and friends. Life is so precious.”

The actress continued: “To anyone who found Christmas tricky this year, for whatever reason, it’s very difficult but it’s normal. I hope you were ok. And if it’s any consolation to anyone dreading, ‘WHATDOIDOFORNEWYEAR????’… we still have no idea. It’ll be January soon and we can all breathe. Lots of love, Beth.”

Supporters rushed to the comments to express their support, with one fan penning: “Ooh well done, it must have been freezing! Happy New Year to you both!”

Another chimed in: “I bet it was freezing, it looks like fun though. Hope you had a great Christmas,” while a third admirer commended: “You’re very brave to go into that freezing sea. Happy New Year to you both.”

A fourth fan expressed their well wishes: “Hope you both had a lovely Christmas and have a lovely New Year. All the best for 2026.”

Beth plays Ruby Miligan in Emmerdale (Image: ITV)

It’s been a whirlwind year in the Dales for Beth’s character Ruby, who notably murdered her abusive father, Anthony Fox (Nicholas Day), back in January.

Killer John Sugden (Oliver Farnworth) assisted in hiding the body, the location of which was only recently revealed after the army medic’s own crimes came to light.

Following the discovery of Nate Robinson’s (Jurell Carter) body from the lake in June, Ruby secretly turned herself into the police station, confessing to her father’s murder under the belief that his remains had been found.

Ruby was eventually cleared, with her character experiencing significantly less turmoil in recent months. After a brief hiatus from the village a few weeks ago, Ruby embarked on a new business venture, after inadvertently importing an excess of wine from abroad.