Ruth "Roo" Stewart (also Morgan) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Justine Clarke from 1988 to 1989. The character made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1988. Clarke quit the role in 1989 and the character was written out. In August 2010, it was announced that Roo would return to Home and Away with Georgie Parker in the role. The character returned on 29 October 2010.

In 1987, Clarke auditioned for the roles of Carly Morris, Lynn Davenport and Bobby Simpson; but was unsuccessful each time. After the series had finished filming their pilot episode, producers changed their minds and invited Clarke to audition for the role of Roo, which she won. Clarke told a reporter from TV Life that she was "really pleased" because she thought Roo was a "great character". Filming on the serial began in Sydney in December 1987, and Clarke's casting was publicised on 2 January 1988. She joined the cast as a series regular. Her character was confirmed to be a love interest for Frank Morgan (Alex Papps). Clarke and Papps met for the first time on the first day of filming. David Brown of TV Week reported that the Frank/Roo romance would develop into a major storyline.

Roo is the much-hated character who attempts to sabotage her father's marriage to Ailsa and who nearly fools Frank into marrying her by claiming that she is carrying his baby. There are two sides to her personality; to the adults she is charming and personable. To people her own age she is boy-crazy and scheming.

— Kesta Desmond on Roo (1990).

Before her debut, Clarke said her character was "boy crazy". She explained that Roo is used to getting her own way and usually does, adding "she's heavily into boys." Roo's personality gained an unwelcome reception amongst viewers. Clarke said that "everyone" hated Roo and revealed that people would "boo" at her while attending promotional appearances. On one occasion Clarke had to leave a shopping centre because females were shouting "slut" at her. Clarke said that Roo is "a cow" but defended her because Roo ultimately ends up suffering.

In the serial's first season, Alan Bateman wanted Home and Away to tackle serious social issues and a few months later Roo became the first character to have a teenage pregnancy. The production team felt that Roo's pregnancy was "risqué" because Home and Away was aired in an early evening time-slot. Clarke said she did not know what it was like to be pregnant and had to carry out research. While filming the storyline, Clarke was required to wear a bag filled with lentils beneath her clothing. This was to give the impression that Roo was pregnant, and as her pregnancy progressed more lentils were added to the bag to maintain continuity. Clarke remained unaware of how to portray a convincing birth scene. The wife of the episode's director had previously given birth during a complicated labour. She helped Clarke with her research, which also included watching child birth videos. Clarke said that while she had learned most aspects of labour, not experiencing the actual pain of birth resulted in her feeling unprepared for the scenes. The birth scenes were filmed over the period of one day, consisting of more than fifteen shoots. Clarke said the dramatic breathing left her "dizzy" and even caused her to hyperventilate.

Following the birth, Roo decides to have her daughter adopted out. This marked a temporary two-week departure for the character, as she goes to the city to make arrangements off-screen. For Roo's return, producers created "a new, glamorous and confident" look for her. Of this, Clarke said "Roo's grown up a lot while she's been away because of the trauma of it all. She's out to live down her bad name." Roo's return coincides with Frank's proposal to Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson), but instead of what everyone is expecting, she actually gives the couple her blessing. Clarke said Roo is trying to be nice, but no one believes or trusts her, which Clarke thought was understandable given Roo's history. Clarke also revealed that the reason Roo is so accepting of Frank and Bobby's engagement is that she has a new love interest, whose identity was initially kept a secret. Clarke told David Brown of TV Week that everyone thinks she is making it up when she declares that she is in love, until her boyfriend arrives in the Bay. Clarke added "It's a very good storyline. I'll be able to tackle another teenage problem."

Clarke played the role of Roo from 1988, until the character was written out a year later after Clarke quit the show. Clarke has been asked to return to the show and reprise her role as Roo many times, but she has never agreed.