Ruth Fowler

Ruth Fowler (née Aitken) was a fictional character in the popular British BBC soap opera EastEnders. She was played by Caroline Paterson. Ruth was Mark Fowler's second wife and she was far more comfortable with his HIV status than many of his other girlfriends. However their marriage eventually disintegrated due to Mark's inability to provide Ruth with a child. They split and she strayed with Mark's cousin, Conor Flaherty. Her betrayal deeply hurt Mark, but it also gave her the chance to be a mother, as she fell pregnant with Conor's child. Ruth was first seen in July 1994. She was visiting her terminally ill friend, Anna, at an AIDS hospice. Mark Fowler was also visiting his friend, Joe Wallace, but arrived too late and was told that Joe had already died — dying of an AIDS related illness. Ruth was seemingly unable to cope with her friends deterioration, and after Mark showed concern the pair decided to go and drown their sorrows at a nearby pub. Ruth was from Edinburgh in... full article at wikipedia