She was featured in storylines surrounding her gangland father Johnny Allen (Billy Murray), with whom she shared a problematic relationship due to his criminal lifestyle.

In July 2006, Lytton was axed from the show due to limited possibilities for the character following the death of her on-screen father, and Ruby departed on 23 November 2006.

"[6] Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy stated "Despite being dangerous Johnny’s daughter, Ruby was a meek and mild little thing when she first arrived [...] she had been traumatised by a house fire that had killed her mum and her sister and developed a problematic sleep walking habit as a result.

"[7] On 8 July 2006, Daniel Saney of Digital Spy reported that Lytton would be written out of EastEnders following a mutual decision between the producers and the actress herself.

[9] Speaking to an FHM writer, Lytton explained that her exit, which saw Ruby leave in a black cab with her father's ashes, would have been better if it was something "massive" and "dramatic".

She stated that she would immediately cause trouble and come back as a "hard-faced bitch", as Ruby often let people walk over her and constantly cried.

She commented, "We last saw her twelve years ago as a young girl and now she is returning as a woman with scope for major change and some brilliantly challenging storylines.

[19] It was reported that the attack would not be shown, but the show's research team worked with charity Rape Crisis England and Wales to accurately portray the storyline.

"[18] Yvonne Traynor, the CEO of Rape Crisis South London, commented, "EastEnders have taken this responsibility very seriously and ensured that their portrayal of sexual violence has been thoroughly researched and is based on realism which is, sadly, so prevalent in our country today.

[20] The episode takes place after Ruby's rapists, Ross Swinden (Ossian Luke) and Matt Clarkson (Mitchell Hunt), are charged for rape.

At the end of the episode, Ross and Matt's friend, Glenn Neyland (Todd Von Joel), publicly accuses her of lying so she reveals herself as the rape victim, shocking the local residents.

Ruby's departure from Walford left many unanswered questions for Martin and Stacey, and her return is sure to unearth a whole heap of drama for her character and all those involved".

[26] The actress teased that, as Ruby would return as a mother, which she commented gave her character a purpose, she now knew where her priorities were to a greater extent, despite still making mistakes.

After storming out of the café where they are talking, she is mugged by a vagrant in Bridge Street, who grabs hold of Ruby's coat and steals her mobile phone.

Later, Ruby learns from Stacey that Sean had cheated on her with Preeti Choraria (Babita Pohoomull) and she barges into Tanya Branning's (Jo Joyner) salon to threaten her.

She makes Sean vow to be true to her, but when she tells his mother, Jean Slater (Gillian Wright), that he is back in Walford, he angrily breaks up with her, throwing her father's ashes in her face.

The next day, Ruby tells Stacey that she went back to Ross' house afterwards and had sex with him, but woke up with Martin's other friend, Matt Clarkson (Mitchell Hunt), on top of her.

In February 2019, Ruby is hosting a party for Habiba (Rukku Nahar) and Iqra Ahmed (Priya Davdra) to coincide with the opening of their restaurant.

She feels sorry for Mel Owen (Tamzin Outhwaite) following her son Hunter's (Charlie Winter) prison sentencing, and encourages her to come along.

In November 2019, Mel decides to sell her half of the E20, and offers Ruby the chance to buy both hers and Sharon Watts' (Letitia Dean) shares.

Whitney explains to Ruby how her ex-boyfriend Leo King (Tom Wells) had locked her in a hotel room when she discovered his true identity.

Ruby later lets Dotty Cotton (Milly Zero) and Vinny Panesar (Shiv Jalota) deal NOS canisters on the club premises.

Jean Slater (Gillian Wright) tries to persuade her to drop the charges, telling her that she believes she has terminal cancer and may not live to see Stacey released, but Ruby presses ahead regardless.

Isaac Baptiste (Stevie Basaula), who is suffering from schizophrenia, becomes obsessed with Ruby, convinced that her father was responsible for his brother Paul Trueman's (Gary Beadle) death and that she is covering it up.

Ruby subsequently discovers that Jean has a cannabis farm in her garage that was set up by Big Mo before she left and tips off the police, leading to her arrest before she can tell Martin the truth.

When he confronts her about it, she confesses everything to him including the robbery and about how she manipulated Martin by twisting the truth and how she silenced Stacey, Kush and Lily but also reveals that she is pregnant again.

For her portrayal of Ruby, Lytton was nominated for Best Soap Actor (Female) at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards; she came in fourth place with 10.5% of the total vote.

[30] Dainty praised EastEnders for exploring an "important social issue" with Ruby's sexual consent storyline and the "extensive" research it undertook when developing the story.

[30] Katie Baillie of the Metro enjoyed Lytton's performance during the storyline and opined that she deserved an accolade as she did not appear to be acting, rather living the experience herself.

[30][31] Dainty described Ruby's speech at the end of the episode as "powerful and very public",[30] while Baillie said that it leaves the audience "with a fire in your belly ready to stand beside her and fight".