Louisa Lytton

Louisa Claire Lytton (born 7 February 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Ruby Allen in ''EastEnders'' and Beth Green in ''The Bill''. She also finished fourth in the fourth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2006 and represented the UK at the Eurovision Dance Contest 2008, finishing ninth. Her theatre credits include playing Betty Rizzo in the 2017 UK touring production of the musical '' Grease''.

Early life

Born on 7 February 1989 in the London Borough of Camden, Lytton attended the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone, London. She is of Italian descent on her mother's side and her first cousin once removed is Lisa Maffia, a member of the So Solid Crew.

Career

''EastEnders''

Lytton made her first appearance in ''EastEnders'' on 18 March 2005, playing Johnny Allen's daughter Ruby Allen. In July 2006, weeks after winning the "Sexiest Female" award at the British Soap Awards, it was announced that Lytton would be leaving ''EastEnders'' in November 2006. On the exit of her character, Lytton had commented: "I've really enjoyed my time at EastEnders. It has been a great experience which I will never forget but I am now looking forward to trying new things and not getting typecast." Lytton's final scenes were broadcast in November 2006. On 1 December 2006, Lytton appeared on the ITV1 show ''Loose Women'' and confirmed that leaving ''EastEnders'' was not her decision. In August 2008 she stated she would like to return to ''EastEnders'' once she had left ''The Bill''.

On 18 July 2018, Lytton was announced to be reprising her role as Ruby. Lytton revealed that she was shocked to be asked back to ''EastEnders'' after such a long time, and told '' Metro UK'', "In my head, obviously I’d always have loved to go back to the show because it was where I started out, but it had been so long that it was never an option in my head anymore ..I genuinely never thought about it being an option, especially because my dad had died in the show."

After a twelve-year hiatus, Ruby returned on 18 September 2018. Producers soon placed her at the centre of a sexual consent storyline, involving a special episode about the views surrounding consent. Lytton was nominated for two ''Digital Spy'' Reader Awards for the consent storyline, while Lytton and the storyline were praised by viewers and critics alike.

Lytton left the serial for the second time in late 2021, following the birth of her first child. In March 2022, Lytton admitted she may never return to the soap.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

In late 2006, Lytton took part in the fourth series of the popular BBC One reality television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Aged 17 at the time, she is the youngest ever contestant to have appeared on the show. Louisa's professional dance partner was Vincent Simone. After several impressive performances she was eliminated in the quarter-finals, finishing in fourth place out of fourteen, losing out to Emma Bunton in the viewer vote for a place in the last three. Despite this, Lytton appeared in the Christmas Special on Christmas Day with fellow contestants Mark Ramprakash, Matt Dawson and Emma Bunton, along with 2005's finalists Zoë Ball and Colin Jackson. This show was won by Jackson. Below is a scoring recap from start to finish.

Lytton began touring with 'Strictly' on 18 January 2008 with ex-''EastEnders'' co-stars, Letitia Dean and Matt Di Angelo, and ended the tour with 11 wins under her belt. Along with her ''EastEnders'' co-star Christopher Parker, Louisa was vocal in her criticism of the media treatment of John Sergeant, which led to him resigning from the 2008 series of 'Strictly Come Dancing'. She said she was surprised that Arlene Philips was removed as a judge from the next series of Strictly Come Dancing due to her age and she was replaced by former contestant and 2007 winner Alesha Dixon.

Strictly on Tour 2008

She was one of the former ''Strictly Come Dancing'' participants to be asked to return for Strictly on Tour which took place in early 2008 and toured the country. She was asked to return due to her personality and popularity with the audience on ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
“I absolutely loved taking part in ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and jumped at the chance to take part in the live show, and thanks to my bosses at ''The Bill'' I've got the chance to get back out there and this time, fingers crossed, win it for the girls!". She won numerous times. She appeared on BBC Breakfast for a second time in January 2008 and a third time in September 2008.

Children in Need: Strictly Special 2019

In October 2019, it was confirmed that Lytton would return to ''Strictly Come Dancing'' for a Children in Need special with ''EastEnders'' co-stars Maisie Smith, Rudolph Walker and Ricky Champ. It was announced that she would be partnered with Gorka Márquez. On an Instagram post, Lytton revealed that she had remembered nothing about dancing from when she took part in the show, 13 years previously.

Other work

Lytton was Emma Watson's double in the film ''Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets''.

Between leaving ''EastEnders'' and joining ''The Bill'' she made an appearance on the CBBC show ''Hider in the House'' as herself. She has appeared on ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' to promote her role in ''The Bill''. She also appeared on ''Big Brother's Little Brother'' with Dermot O'Leary. On 26 June 2007 she made a second appearance on lunchtime show ''Loose Women'', this time promoting her addition to the cast of ''The Bill''. She also briefly appeared in Emma Bunton's video for her single "Downtown" for Children in Need. She has been on the TV show '' This Morning'' twice.

On 16 May 2007, Lytton first appeared in the ITV1 police drama ''The Bill'' as PC Beth Green. She had previously appeared as a different character in a 1997 episode, coincidentally starring alongside actor Billy Murray, who previously played her father in ''EastEnders''. She left the show in March 2009.

On 27 August 2007, Lytton appeared on BBC
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