Rufus Hound reveals he is engaged to the EastEnders actress after proposing live on stage

Celebrity Juice star Rufus Hound is engaged to his EastEnders actress girlfriend Sally Hodgkiss.

The comedian and TV star, 45, took to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday to announce the news and paid tribute to the Superman Requiem star for transforming his life.

He wrote: ‘Over the past two years, @sallyhodgkiss has redefined how completely loved or seen I ever believed someone could make me feel. We talk and feed each other in a way that is almost unbelievable to me. Last night I asked her to marry me.’

Rufus described the moment: ‘We had the privilege of participating in @theimprovathon @WiltonMusicHall, a show in which brilliant, erudite, playful, thoughtful, beautiful sleep-deprived people repeatedly spoke of love, devotion and joy and demonstrated the amazing magic that happens when such people do that.’

He said: ‘Sally walked down for her final bow. As she spoke – a poetic, beautiful final flourish – the universe seemed to shout at me that the time – bizarre as it may be – had come.

‘While the audience applauded her, I took the stage next to her. Without saying anything, I acted as if it was unlikely that I would be able to speak because I was completely overwhelmed.

‘Then I dropped to one knee and she looked confused – this would be a strange turn for the characters we were playing (siblings as they were). It wasn’t until I said her name that she realized what was happening. Some people took pictures.

‘She said yes. My kids are freaking thrilled, my ex congratulated me on the news, my parents were beside themselves, and my best friend Steve contacted a special Wedding Robot for validation.”

He concluded by writing, “Anyway, as reckless as it feels to be giddily happy in public (without it being because of the sinking of migrant boats or the removal of murals from centers for refugee children), so am I. We are. Everything is better with her. She is magical. And soon I will be her husband.”

News of Rufus’ relationship came to light last June when he spoke about his new love on Twitter after splitting from wife Beth Johnson. declared ‘no one has ever loved me as much as she does’.

Rufus married Beth in a ceremony in Las Vegas in 2007 and together they share son Alby and daughter Hilda, before eventually splitting in 2020.

But now he has moved on and has found love again with former soap star Sally.

The actress appeared in EastEnders as Steph in 2019 when her character worked as a waitress at Walford restaurant, Walford East.

He shared a slew of snaps from their time at Glastonbury via Twitter, as well as a gushing tribute to declare his love.

Writing: ‘No one has ever loved me as much as this woman and the best part is that she is all amazing.’

“Being her boyfriend is a blessing and she is definitely the best person I didn’t create.”

Before adding: ‘She always makes everything fun and good. She is sunshine and kisses and laughs at the same time. It was the BEST time’.

While Sally said he was the ‘best person’ she had ever met.

The actress, who performed stand-up at the festival, has also appeared in an episode of Casualty and numerous stage productions.

In October 2020, Rufus shared a poignant post in which he claimed that he and his estranged wife will “always be best friends” despite their divorce.

In a statement, he said: “In April, Beth and I made the sad decision to end our marriage.”

‘We will always have great love and respect for each other. Even though we’re divorced, we’ll always be best friends.”

The couple have two children together, Alby and Hilda, and he concluded by saying: ‘As always, our family will remain our first priority.’

During his time on Dancing On Ice in 2021, there were calls for him to be axed after historic tweets from the star containing racist and homophobic insults resurfaced, it is claimed.

The sun reported at the time the comedian was told he ‘wouldn’t be kicked off the show’ after old tweets from the star surfaced in which he used the word ‘r****d’ in 2011, which Ed Sheeran was referred to as a “gay gentleman” and tweeted racist comments including the n-word in 2012.

A source claimed on the website that ITV was hypocritical towards Hound – after axing I’m A Celebrity star Jack Maynard in 2017 after tweets appeared in which he made racist and homophobic comments.

A source told the website: ‘Dancing On Ice have made their position clear and although Rufus’ tweets have been quietly condemned, it is not currently seen as an offense requiring his removal.

“It seems like there’s one rule for some, and one for the other. After Jack was removed from I’m A Celebrity due to the same type of tweets, it was believed Rufus would be told to resign.

“But it has been made clear to those working on the show that they are behind him.”

He was eventually forced to quit the show after testing positive for COVID-19.