Fans shocked over Sharon Maughan’s appearance in Emmerdale

Emmerdale fans were given a brief insight into Ruby‘s backstory in Tuesday’s episode, as Caleb went to visit her estranged mum in the hospital. Viewers were introduced to Helen, played by actress Sharon Maughan.

Helen made it clear she is keen to reconnect with Ruby, following many years of no contact. However, it seemed like Caleb wasn’t in favour of welcoming her back into their lives. A dodgy money deal followed, but it remains to be seen what Ruby will think of her mum coming back into her life.

Emmerdale fans were more distracted by actress Sharon’s appearance however, with many failing to recognise the star. Here’s everything you need to know about Helen’s arrival in Emmerdale.

Sharon Maughan as Helen in Emmerdale. — Sharon Maughan plays Ruby’s mum Helen (Credit: ITV)

Sharon Maughan’s Emmerdale debut

Emmerdale viewers were introduced to Ruby’s estranged mum, Helen, in recent scenes. Helen is ill and currently residing in hospital. Caleb paid her a secret visit, where Helen revealed she regrets being estranged from her daughter and she is now divorced from Ruby’s dad.

Caleb and Helen argued over Ruby, who is unaware her husband has been to visit her mum. Eventually, Caleb struck up in a deal with his mother-in-law. He said he’d bring Ruby to see Helen if she will send him £100,000, which she agreed to.

However, Caleb could be seen riddled with guilt as he returned home and reflected on the deal he’d just made. Despite this, he still didn’t mention anything to Ruby, who was suspicious of his unexplained late arrival home.

Emmerdale fans didn’t recognise Sharon in her new role (Credit: SplashNews.com)

Fans brand Sharon ‘unrecognisable’

Emmerdale fans were left taken aback after realising it was Sharon, 74, portraying Ruby’s ill mum. Following Tuesday evening’s episode, viewers shared their shock over Sharon’s transformation, with some even questioning if it was really her.

Taking to social media, one person pondered: “She looks like the woman off the Nescafe ads from the 80s/90s , Sharon Maughan,” while a second added: “I was thinking the same thing, l wonder if it is her, Sharon Maughan.”

Somebody else pointed out that the make-up team will have been busy getting Sharon into character. The fan added: “They’ve probably made her look worse as she’s supposed to be dying!”

Another simply pointed out: “The wonderful Sharon Maughan.”

“Gosh, I didn’t recognise her,” exclaimed another. A further user commented: “So different, I didn’t recognise her at all.”

Someone else wrote: “I was trying all the time Emmerdale was on to work out where I knew her from!”

Others instantly recognised Sharon from her appearances in adverts for Nescafé in the 1980s. The actress has also starred in TV shows including Casualty and Heartbeat, as well as film The Bank Job. Of course, she is perhaps best-known to soap fans as Tricia in Holby City.

Caleb and Ruby apparently have a daughter! — Caleb and Ruby don’t appear to be big fans of Ruby’s mum (Credit: ITV)

What do we know about Ruby’s mum?

It has been confirmed that Helen will appear in a limited number of episodes.

Actor William Ash, who plays Caleb, has shed some light on Helen’s arrival. He shared some insight into Ruby and Helen’s relationship, as well as Caleb’s issues with his mother-in-law.

Speaking during a virtual press conference, the actor said: “So, Ruby and Caleb don’t have any relationship with Ruby’s mum at all. Basically, what her mum and her dad did, when Ruby and Caleb got together, when they were about 17, they really disliked Caleb. They hated him because he’d come out of a care home and didn’t have any family. I think they just thought he was beneath their daughter.

“So, Helen was really snobby and judgemental. Helen and Ruby’s dad gave Ruby an ultimatum,” William continued. “They basically said ‘look if you want to be with this boy then we don’t want anything to do with you’. They basically just cut Ruby dead.”

It was revealed last night that Helen had offered Caleb money to break up with Ruby. She’d then tried to force her daughter to have an abortion when she fell pregnant and when Ruby refused had cut her off completely.