Emmerdale star Beth Cordingly has shared the birthday love for her real-life partner Ian Kelsey.

The actress, who plays Ruby Fox-Miligan in the ITV soap, has been in a relationship

for three years with Ian, who previously appeared as Dave Glover in the village between 1994 and 1996.

The pair have been forced to spend time apart in recent weeks, as Ian has been back and forth from China. Beth revealed that he was there for his birthday on Tuesday, as she shared a screenshot of a video call they had.

She wrote: ‘Happy birthday to this beauty in China. See you soon.’

During Ian’s time in Emmerdale, one of Dave’s biggest storylines saw him embark on a steamy affair with Kim Tate (Claire King), before going on to marry Kathy Bates (Malandra Burrows).

Beth previously revealed that Ian was ‘very supportive’ when she landed her Emmerdale role, telling Metro that he gave her one solid piece of advice: ‘He told me not to bump into the furniture, which I do regularly!’.

Earlier this week, Beth was forced to deny claims she was leaving Emmerdale.

Posting on Instagram, she said: ‘Loads of people keep contacting me and saying, “Oh I hear you’re leaving the show”. There’s some sort of fake news article going round saying all sorts of stuff. For the record, if I’m allowed to say this, I’m not leaving the show at the moment – as far as I know – I’m having a really lovely time.

‘I adore my job, and I definitely don’t feel I’ve been mistreated by any producers. I’m being treated very well and I’m having a lovely time.’

Since her arrival in January, Ruby has become a hugely loved character among Emmerdale fans.

Her life in the village was shaken a few weeks ago when her daughter Steph (Georgia Jay) arrived, quickly followed by Ruby’s dad Anthony (Nicholas Day).

In a series of flashback scenes, viewers later discovered Anthony had sexually abused Ruby as a child, and she’s kept the ordeal a secret ever since.