Emmerdale star Beth Cordingly has revealed her secret relationship with soap legend Ian Kelsey.

The actress, 47, recently made her first on-screen appearance as Ruby Fox-Milligan on the ITV1 soap opera, and has been dating the actor, 57, since 2021. He famously played Dave Glover on the show in the 1990s .

During his time on the show, Dave had a relationship with Kim Tate (Claire King) and died after saving her son Jamie in a fire.

Beth is now playing the the wife of Kim’s enemy and stepson Caleb Milligan (William Ash).

The actress admitted that she is ‘very happy’ and ‘ so in love’ when it comes to her own personal life.

She told The Mirror: ‘I am very in love with Ian and very happy. I think it really does work him being an actor too. He has been so fantastic!’

The actress – who appeared as PC Kerry Young in The Bill and in more recent years has had roles in EastEnders and Doctors – explained her Ian had been ‘really supportive’ and had even encouraged her to take the job.

She said: ‘There is that thing as an actor where you are always taken away from home. But he totally gets it.

‘He knows a lot of the crew and cast and so it’s lovely to be able to share what I’ve been up to, knowing he understands.

‘That’s important when you are away and he is always keen to find out how filming has gone each day.

‘We are both very supportive of each other’s careers which is important when it is such a competitive industry’.

The couple had known each other for 20 years before randomly bumping into each other in 2021.

Prior to reconnecting with each other, Beth had been married to Adam Speers whilst Ian has Layla Beau, 18, and Ivy, 13, with ex-wife Mia Terry.