Former Emmerdale star Verity Rushworth, who played Donna Windsor in the long-running ITV soap, has revealed she has found love again following her divorce and is embarking on a new chapter in her life. The 40-year-old married Dominic Michael Shaw, with whom she shares two children, in 2013 but the couple finalised their divorce in 2021. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk she gave an update on her love life revealing she is dating property developer Anthony Martin and the couple have even gone into business together running a successful property development business called MartinRushworth.

The star can't stop grinning as she recalls their meeting. "Well, we got set up on a blind date by my friend Nicky. She was in hairspray with me. She's an actress, and in between jobs, she was working in one of his estate agents offices. She rang me, and said you're gonna meet Anthony. He's ADHD, entrepreneur. I arranged to meet him at Dolly's bar at the bottom of Selfridges, and I didn't know who I was meeting, and I didn't really know what he looked like," she giggled.

"I'd had one picture [of him], but it didn't look exactly like his picture, but I knew it was him straight away. And he was coming down the escalator in Selfridges, and I was at the bottom, and it was in the summer - this is five years ago now - and I had a pair of tailored black shorts on. I had my pins out.

"He was leaning over the escalator, and he was taking a picture of me to send to his mates, and he nearly fell off the escalator trying to take it," she laughs."But as soon as he sat down I just knew. I just knew straight away," she gushes.

"We did long distance for nearly a year before he asked me to move in. It just worked. I don't know if his his entrepreneurial, creative side but we're both extremely down to earth. We're both from working class backgrounds. Even though he's a successful businessman, he's done it all himself, so he understands the graft," she said proudly.

This has led the star to a new chapter of her life, running a successful property development business with him called MartinRushworth. While it may seem like a huge departure, Verity still acts, and this is just another string to her bow. Her first forays into property came in her soap days. "I've always had a passion for property she says. At 21, I bought my first home in Leeds, and then I was flipping properties from quite young with my Emmerdale money, so I've always been really intrigued by it, and it just all came together."

The couple are now giving one lucky person the opportunity to win a £600,000 detached family home in Kent. The aim is not only to offer someone the chance to win a mortgage-free home, but also to give back, as the profits will support a children’s heart charity called ECHO (Evelina Children’s Heart Organisation), which is close to their hearts after Anthony’s daughter, now a happy and thriving seven-year-old, underwent life-saving surgery at 18 months.

"The reason we're doing the raffle is that Anthony has built five four-bed detached houses, beautiful houses, and he could just put them through his estate agency and make a bit of commission. It's a successful business. But he was so aware of how difficult it is at the moment for people to get on the property ladder nowadays

"He thought, what if we tried to raffle one, and if it worked, that could be like a new thing - then we're actually giving back. If we actually make enough ticket sales this way, we're going to be able to give a percentage to charity as well. And if it works, then it's going to be a whole new thing that he can offer as part of his company.

"It's £3 a ticket. We tried to make it as affordable as possible. If we sell the 300,000 tickets, then somebody will win the house, and we will be able to donate a massive percentage to the heart charity," she said.

Tickets for the draw to win the £600,000 home are available from Raffall. The draw closes on May 29 2026.