Ruth Codd, the Irish actress and breakout star of BBC's The Celebrity Traitors, has reached a significant milestone in her recovery, taking her first steps after undergoing a second below-knee amputation. The 29-year-old, known for her candid and humorous social media presence, shared the poignant moment from a hospital ward, marking a new chapter in her health journey.
A Journey of Resilience and Humour
Codd first had her right leg amputated below the knee at age 23, following severe complications from a football injury sustained in her teens. Years later, facing continued pain and mobility issues, she made the difficult decision to have her left lower leg amputated in November 2025. She recuperated at her parents' home, where she joked about being back making TikTok content but unable to go upstairs.
After several weeks using a wheelchair, her recovery progressed dramatically. She posted a video on TikTok showing herself carefully practising walking on her new prosthetic legs, holding onto parallel bars in the hospital. True to form, she captioned the clip with dark wit: "When you have no legs left to amputate so you’re wondering what you’re going to do for attention in 2026." She further quipped, "Terrible day for the Wikifeet community #newyearnewlegs," while wearing a festive oversized jumper.
Choosing Amputation for Quality of Life
Codd has been transparent about her reasons for the surgery, emphasising it was a choice to improve her long-term wellbeing. In a prior discussion, she explained that after eight years on crutches, the joints in her feet were destroyed. She had already undergone amputation of all her toes, which she once joked made her foot look like "a little hamburger" or a "Bratz doll foot."
"It was just my quality of life," she stated. "It’s never going to get any better from this point... I haven’t let it stop me from doing anything, but I feel like it has hindered me and made my ability to do my job more difficult." With characteristic optimism, she added, "I’ve been through it once before, so I think with two prosthetics, I’ll be pretty unstoppable."
Her humour also shone when replying to an Instagram follower who asked why she chose the amputation. She posted a screenshot of her response: "I asked the surgeon really nicely and he gave me a two for one deal."
From TikTok to Television Fame
Ruth Codd first built a following online by openly discussing disability. This led to her television debut in Netflix's 2022 horror series The Midnight Club, playing Anya. She later appeared in Mike Flanagan's The Fall of the House of Usher in 2023.
In 2025, she joined the inaugural celebrity edition of The Traitors on BBC One, alongside figures like Clare Balding, Tom Daley, and Stephen Fry. Cast as a Faithful, her stint was cut short when she was "murdered" by the Traitors—Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross, and Cat Burns—in the fourth episode. Comedian Alan Carr went on to win the series, securing £87,500 for charity.
Through her ongoing recovery, Ruth Codd continues to inspire with a powerful blend of resilience, career success, and unflinching humour, redefining public perceptions of disability one step at a time.
