Ruth Wilkinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ailsa Piper.

She was a divorced single mother, who later established a relationship with Philip Martin (Ian Rawlings), which attracted some opposition from their children.

The relationship was later tested by the introduction of Ruth's long lost son, Ben Atkins (Brett Cousins) and his father Geoff Burke (Andrew McKaige).

She relinquished her position as a board member of the Playbox Theatre Company, as she knew she would be unable to attend the meetings.

[2] Ruth is introduced as a physiotherapist who arrives in Ramsay Street to care for Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy).

[4] Ruth was a single mother to Lance (Andrew Bibby) and Anne (Brooke Satchwell) and the Illawarra Mercury said Piper's role allowed her to "portray the non-traditional family unit in a positive light.

"[3] When asked in what ways she was similar to her character, Piper told The Sydney Morning Herald, "We share the same legs and the same quick temper.

[7] Ruth and Philip also had to cope with her long lost son, Ben Atkins (Brett Cousins) and his father, Geoff Burke (Andrew McKaige), arriving in town.

"[3] Ben's arrival won an AFI Award and Piper said the episode was "beautifully written" and she and Cousins were allowed to feed the characters and not just the plot.

[3] Ben is later involved in a major car accident and he is left in a coma, which is a testing time for Ruth.

[3][4] Ruth and Philip get engaged and Piper said while it was an exciting change for her character, she loved being a single parent.

"[9] Ruth arrives at the ceremony on the back of a classic Harley Davidson motorbike and she is "thrilled" to see both Ben and Michael Martin (Troy Beckwith), who return for the wedding.

[4] In September 1999, Inside Soap reported that the Martin family had been written out of Neighbours and that they had already filmed their final scenes.

[10] Piper revealed that she had expected to leave after her first two-year contract ended and the extra time had been a bonus.

[7] Due to her tears, Piper struggled to get her lines out, stating "I thought I'd be fine, but literally every time, I'd just turn and look at my screen kids and I would be gone.

Ruth initially considers commuting thousands of miles, but ultimately chooses to follow her husband when she gets a top job at a Darwin hospital.

She takes a job at Karl Kennedy's (Alan Fletcher) surgery and has a short-lived relationship with Alistair O'Connor (Michael O'Neill).

Ruth starts exhibiting strange behaviour and when Hannah spots her hugging Bill, she thinks they having an affair.

Six years later, Ruth appears in Annalise Hartman's (Kimberly Davies) documentary about Ramsay Street.

[11] She also said Ruth had "certainly been through the mill" with "a messy divorce, a cancer scare, a resentful rebellious daughter and the reappearance of a long-lost son that she'd placed for adoption when he was just a baby.

[14] Brian Courtis and Andrew Ryan of The Age said there would be "some sad faces around the box" when Ruth, Philip and Hannah departed.