Helen in Emmerdale, played by Sharon Maughan
TV legend Sharon Maughan has joined the cast of Emmerdale (Picture: ITV)

An icon of 80s TV has staged her return to screens, making her presence felt as a feisty newcomer on Emmerdale.

Sharon Maughan, best known for starring opposite Anthony Head in a series of Nescafe ads in the 80s and early 90s, plays newcomer Helen – the estranged mother of Ruby Fox-Milligan (Beth Cordingly) – on the ITV soap.

Helen has been absent from her daughter’s life for three decades but stunned son-in-law Caleb Miligan (William Ash) this week when she got in touch.

TV veteran Sharon rose to fame after capturing the hearts of the nation in a series of Nescafé Gold Blend TV adverts, which were very much like a soap themselves.

The ads in question saw Sharon and co-star Anthony Head play neighbours, who fell for one another over their shared taste in coffee, embarking on a romance.

The campaign proved so popular that Sharon and Buffy The Vampire Slayer star Anthony reprised their roles for a host of US commercials to promote Gold Blend, which was known as Taster’s Choice in America.

Sharon Maughan embraces with Anthony Head in the 80s Nescafe adverts
The actress appeared in a Nescafe advert in the 80s (Picture: Alamy)

74-year-old Sharon has an impressive acting resume, with roles in the Enigma Files, Anna in By the Sword Divided, and Tricia Williams in Holby City.

Over on Emmerdale, Caleb Miligan (William Ash) slipped away from the Emmerdale village to visit a lady called Helen in yesterday’s (September 17) episode – who is Ruby’s mum.

While we don’t know a great deal about Ruby’s past, we do know that she’s never really had a good relationship with her parents.

It was revealed that her family made her choose between them and Caleb and as a result of choosing her partner, Ruby was seemingly banished from the Fox clan.

During the episode of the ITV soap, Caleb acted on the phone calls he had been receiving recently and made his way to the hospital. There, he faced a very unwell lady in a bed. Calling her poisonous, Caleb then confirmed he was looking at Ruby’s mum, played by Sharon.

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As they chatted, Caleb continued to make it clear that Ruby wasn’t going to go anywhere near her mum. He revealed that Helen had previously tried to pay him to leave Ruby, and pushed her to having an abortion when she became pregnant.

Helen then asked Caleb if he saw much of Stephanie. His response was to tell Helen to never mention his kids’ names again, allowing us to learn this is the name of Caleb’s daughter.

When Caleb and son Nicky (Lewis Cope) first arrived in the village, it was briefly touched on that Nicky isn’t Caleb’s only child. We don’t know why Caleb doesn’t see Stephanie, but his furious response when Helen mentioned her name certainly suggests she also has a fractured connection with her dad.

Later on in the episode, Caleb put forward a proposal to Helen. With knowledge she wants to see Ruby before she dies, Caleb somewhat took advantage and said if Helen gives him £100k, he’ll try and get Ruby to the hospital for her.

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