Hollyoaks star Ruby O’Donnell has been involved in some of the soap's more dramatic storylines, including the birth of her character Peri’s child.

Peri gave birth back in 2015 when she was still just a child herself, sporting the Hollyoaks high school uniform as she gave birth in a classroom with Tom Cunningham, her baby’s father. The youngsters welcomed a daughter into the world and named her Steph.

Eight years on from the birth of her child, Peri has caught the eyes of Romeo Nightingale just months after the death of his late girlfriend Rayne Royce. As the police continue to work out who the real killers, Daily Star has taken a deep dive inside the actor's life away from the soap.

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It's fair to say the blonde bombshell appeared to have a life polar opposite to her character's counterpart. Read on to find out more about Ruby O’Donnell’s life off screen.

Dedication to her career

The star has played Peri since 2014
The star has played Peri since 2014

She said that some of the scenes were “hard to tackle” as she was “still quite young” - Peri was 15 at the time while Ruby was only 14 - so she “did the research to help with her performance”.

Ruby admitted she “wanted to find out how teenagers actually react in these situations” and was initially nervous about the storyline. It seems her dedication paid off as the actress won Best Young Actor at the 2016 British Soap Awards and has since been nominated for multiple accolades.

Rugby star ex

The young couple support each other's careers
The young couple support each other's careers

Back in September 2019, the 23-year-old started dating her then-boyfriend Sam Halsall, with the pair making things official in December that year. Sam plays for Wigan Warriors and Ruby was often spotted supporting her beau at many of his games.

But after four years of dating, the duo decided to call it quits back in June and erased all traces of each other on their social media accounts. Ruby has been focusing on one of her hardest hitting storylines to date on Hollyoaks after her character Peri's girlfriend Juliet (Niamh Blackshaw) died of lymphoma.

Party girl

Ruby
Ruby has become a fan fave over the years

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Ruby loves to show off her antics on Instagram and frequently shares snaps from her social gatherings with friends. She can be seen enjoying a dance with her pals, sometimes in fancy dress, as she soaks up the sun in a back garden or whilst on holiday.

The star is also a frequent festival goer and keeps her fans up to date with her on-set and behind-the-scenes action.

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