| Ruby Buckton | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home and Away character | |||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Rebecca Breeds | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2008–2012 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 20 June 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 15 August 2012 | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Cameron Welsh | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
Ruby Buckton is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Rebecca Breeds. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 20 June 2008. Ruby was created by executive producer Cameron Welsh. When she was first introduced she appeared to hide her problems and pretends to be strong. She was characterised as a free spirited and independent girl. Her storylines have consistently followed themes such as romance, unrequited love and rejection. In what has been described as a "shock storyline" Ruby discovered her sister Charlie Buckton was in fact her mother. This had subsequent effects in her character development. She became out of place and confused about her life. It destroyed her trust in Charlie and their relationship never recovered. Ruby went on a journey of self-discovery and used men to redefine herself. Her relationship with Xavier Austin was characterised through their mutual friendship, which ended through lack of passion. She controversially fell in love with her music teacher Liam Murphy, the pair shared an emotional and creative connection through music. Yet, her advances were unrequited and it created problems with her state of mind and began binge drinking. Breeds felt the storyline differed to her romance with Xavier, as it showed Ruby "headstrong and unconfined". Breeds felt they were ill-suited to one another.
Ruby later develops feelings for Romeo Smith and attempts to ruin his relationship with Indigo Walker. Off-screen Breeds got into a relationship with Luke Mitchell who plays Romeo, and the pair had previously stated they did not want their characters to get together in case it created problems for them in real life. Ruby and Romeo sleep together and after she is rejected, Ruby becomes wayward, self-harms and sleeps with Casey Braxton on the rebound. The storyline also created more tension with Charlie who found it difficult to offer Ruby any parental advice. In other minor storylines, Ruby has come to terms with having diabetes and discovered a talent for singing. Breeds is a classically trained singer and she had to change her voice to suit Ruby's amateur vocals. Ruby has received critical analysis through her storylines. Some have branded her a "boyfriend-stealer", "self-absorbed" and a "randy school girl". Her storylines with Liam were partially favoured to others. Breeds has been nominated for the "Most Popular New Female Talent" and "Most Popular Actress" Logie Awards for her portrayal of Ruby.