Ben Mitchell

[lizann]

johnny providing a shoulder to ben

[Ruffed_lemur]

johnny providing a shoulder to ben

Looks like they're lining up the next available boyfriend. Not too soon I hope.

[tammyy2j]

Looks like they're lining up the next available boyfriend. Not too soon I hope.

I hate that Paul's death is being used as a push for Ben and Johnny

[lizann]

i don't think johnny was close mates with ben and paul but now they are were, is it as all gay

[tammyy2j]

EastEnders fans can expect fireworks next week as Ben Mitchell and Jay Brown make their move against Paul Coker's killers.

The pair are determined to get revenge and they seize their moment when Jay locates an address for their current whereabouts, but are they playing with fire by taking the law into their own hands?

Digital Spy recently caught up with Harry Reid, who plays Ben, for all the gossip on what's coming up - from the sinister payback plan to Grant's next return...

Why is Ben so hell-bent on revenge?

"Ben has always felt: 'I am a gay man, but I can't show myself to be gay in the public eye'. So he finally bit the bullet and then in the one moment of real love, which they shared amongst the community by holding hands and coming out of the club after a nice night with each other, he's had that taken away from him.

"Ben is angry with the world. He has fought this and in some ways it has proven him right, because he always believed he couldn't be out there. Now Paul has been taken away from him, after he's done exactly what everyone told him was the right thing.

"It's a very confusing time for him. As outsiders we can see it's unfortunate, but Ben will take that as: 'Clearly I can't be who I am'."

Which scenes have been the hardest to play?

"It's been quite weird with me and Jonny [Labey, who played Paul]. We filmed the last stuff of Paul living and then he went away for a couple of weeks. Then he came back and we did the body bag stuff you have seen on screen recently - that was his hand. That was great for me because I was able to live that moment, but the hardest thing for me was seeing him out of filming.

"That sounds odd, but I had kind of forced myself to believe that he was gone and I had lost him. That helped me as an actor. So when he came back to film the body bag stuff and I saw him in the corridor, I could feel myself welling up and I was like: 'Go away!' That meant the body bag stuff came really naturally. We have built up this great working relationship and I missed Jonny as a person."

What kind of reaction have you seen to the storyline? Especially since we thought Ben was dead at first...

"Social media went a bit crazy. We didn't plan this, but I had booked a week off holiday and it turned out to be when it was announced that I had died. I come into work on the train so people see me coming in, but no-one had seen me for the week. It was starting to heat up and people around at home were coming up to say: 'It's a shame'.

"All my uni friends were going: 'What's happened Harry? You've lost it, you are back with us auditioning'. I played along with it and we were happy that the public were engrossed with Ben being killed off. People have come to like Ben and it made me happy that people were upset he was going to go. It upset them even more when it turned out to be the lovely one out of the two!"

What did you think when you heard Paul was being killed off?

"I was sad. We built up a good relationship and Jonny is a terrific actor. When he joined the show, I was given the opportunity to play a new side of Ben, which was the happy side we had never seen before. Very rarely do we see that.

"We got in a month of it and that's gone now, but as an actor it was a gift to play that and even the little tattoo on his finger, it is so important. I'm really gutted he has gone, but this is EastEnders, so I will have another boyfriend!"
Would you like to see Ben have another boyfriend?

"With Johnny Carter, there is this tendency that we have a gay character come on the Square and people go: 'They are obviously getting together'. I think they work better as a friendship, as when Sam Strike was here playing Johnny, they had a little coming together but it didn't happen.

"Actually Johnny has helped Ben through so much, especially the coming out and being comfortable with his surroundings. They are becoming more of a friendship, almost a brotherhood. They are two guys in the same position, but it's easier for Johnny as he has a loving family behind him. I don't see them coming together, but who knows?"

As for the revenge plan, why doesn't Ben just leave it to the law?

"He's not interested in a long drawn-out court case. He has experience with the Old Bill and he knows it will go on for a long time unless he goes and sorts it himself. Plus he's very upset. He has just lost his boyfriend, someone he really loves and Paul was harmless.

"All he is going to think about every single day is some bloke stamping on Paul's face, which is a grim image when you think of it. It was a real vicious hate crime and Ben's a cannon - they have lit the fuse."

How much can you tell us about the pact that Ben and Jay have made together?

"That's between Jay and Ben! Again, they are brothers and they are very close. They look out for each other. They're also not afraid to take big steps. I'll let you find out, but I think Ben and Jay's pact is something that can help each other. Jay's in a bad way at the moment and so is Ben. So it's about them coming together and having a shoulder each to lean on. And doing whatever it takes."

Do you think Ben and Jay could be out of their depth, though?

"I think they're out of their depth in terms of what they're thinking of doing, possibly, with the full-on bloodied revenge. But it depends on whether they do go for that or not."

Are you enjoying the way the younger Mitchells are expanding with Louise and Courtney?

"Yeah, it's really good. Also remember little Denny as well. Bleu Landau's a fantastic little actor. The show's had a little bit of a weird thing with ages. I think we need a few more youngsters and we need a few more of the older olders. We've only really got June Brown now. She's the only one left. I don't want to say any of the others are older! We've kind of got that beautifully middle-aged category, if you like.

"So it's nice to see more youngsters in and expanding a bit. Me and Jamie [Borthwick, who plays Jay] have always said we love going off and doing our own storylines and then coming back together.

"And it's all branching out. Louise has got her little stroies with Shakil and Bex. It's starting to become more of a community feel, with families integrating and stuff, which they always do in EastEnders. It's nice. It's quite refreshing."


We know that Grant is coming back again soon. What's it like having both Mitchell brothers on set?

"That was pretty cool. There was a moment when I was in the Mitchell house and Steve McFadden and Ross Kemp were sat at the dining room table next to each other. I was just sat there quite weirdly in the corner just staring at them. It was quite surreal seeing them two together and them talking about old times. It was a real nice thing.

"What me and Jamie really wanted was a scene with all four of us - the Mitchell legacy, if you like. He's a lovely bloke, Ross. A real professional. His stuff is good. I've said this for ages, when Ross comes back there's a point which the nation is gonna love. I'm not going to tell you what it is."

So it's building up to something big?

"I'm not going to tell you, but it's a proper moment. I know what people think of when they think of Grant. They want to see Grant, especially the women. Women love Grant, don't they?"

Do you have much to do with Mark Junior?

"Not really, no. He's Grant's boy, so there's that own little storyline going on there, but I've not had too much with him. Only a little bit. A little snippet that fuels everything."

Could we see a harder side to Mark? He seems like a fairly nice guy so far...

"He's very pretty as well, isn't he? I said: 'How's that Grant's son?' Even Ross went: 'Oh, okay!' It'll be nice to see that little bit of hardness come out in him, but who knows, he might not have that side. He's grown up away from the main Mitchell clan and all the agg that goes with the Mitchells. But being around his dad might bring out a little side of him. It'll be interesting to see."

Where do you think Ben and Phil's relationship goes from here?

"I've grown to realise that Phil and Ben will very much struggle forever to come to an agreement, just because Phil doesn't like that he's gay. He can keep trying and he is trying. There are parts he will accept - like he's talking to him about Paul now.

"But that hurts Ben even more, because now Paul's dead, Phil can talk about him. It's the whole fact that Phil had to wait for that moment before he could talk to his son about him. Phil will try to accept it, but he never will do fully."

How did you feel about EastEnders exploring the issue of a homophobic attack?

"It's obviously sad because it's such a horrible thing. I didn't realise how much it still goes on. I thought it had stopped to be honest, then I did some research and it does still happen and it's horrible. I was shocked, but at the same time I was glad it had such an impact.

"It touched many different hearts and souls across the nation and it sparked conversation - and actually it was something that needed to be done. That's the great thing about soap, we bring up problems and we try to make the problem a forefront thing, and as a nation we try to sort it out. It was very powerful and I'm grateful to [former executive producer] Dominic Treadwell-Collins for the storyline."

Did Ben and Paul start to develop a following like Emmerdale's Robron?

"We started to. Ben and Jay have got one. We've got a massive following, several Instagram pages and Twitter pages. Bay… or Jen! We've got our little thing, but those two characters have been together for ages.

"But we started to build one for Ben and Paul, a little fanbase, and then he died! So now all the photos are just me looking longingly into the distance and then photos of Jonny scattered about!"

[kaz21]

There's more drama for the Mitchells on next week's EastEnders in Tthe wake of Ben's decision to donate his liver to save dad Phil's life.
Upcoming episodes of the BBC1 soap will see Ben tell Phil that he wants to go ahead with the transplant despite his dad's concerns. And pretty soon, Ben is calling a family meeting and telling everyone of his plans.
But a new crisis will come on Thursday 15 September when Ben goes along to one of Phil's routine hospital appointments and speaks to the doctor about the possibilities of becoming Phil's donor.


Both father and son get a reality check when the doctor explains the risks of the operation and - not wanting to hear it - Phil storms out. Can Ben talk him round? Or will Phil remain resolute in his refusal to accept bens offer.

[tammyy2j]

I was disappointed to see Ben on a dating or hook up app site already, I know Pam told him live his life and move on but Paul was the love of his life only buried a week back

[Perdita]

Warning: this article contains spoilers for next week's episodes of EastEnders.

Last night's (September 29) episode of EastEnders gave viewers a surprising twist as Ben Mitchell hooked up with Luke Browning, and it looks like things are set to get even more heated for two.

The truth about the latter's parentage - Luke is the son of James Willmott-Brown, who raped Ben's mum Kathy nearly 30 years ago - may cause heartbreak down the line.

Newly released spoilers for next week's episodes now suggest that after hooking up once again things could get pretty tense for the Mitchell clan as the truth looks set to be revealed after Phil convenes a family meeting.


© BBC
Ben is set to muse over sending the handsome businessman a message following their hookup, but after talking to Michelle - who agrees to contact her date Doug - he too invites Luke for a drink.

However, Ben's date will see him put on a front for the new man in his life and exaggerate certain aspects of his life. Although Luke sees straight through his big talk, they both end up back at The Arches again.


Ben Mitchell and Keanu Taylor in EastEnders
© BBC

Ben's then left feeling pretty conflicted over his new romance as Phil turns to Kathy for advice. Drama and a very big reveal may then be in store as Phil suggests to Ben that Luke comes round to meet the Mitchells.

Perhaps some home truths are in store for the residents of Albert Square?


Digital Spy

[Perdita]

EastEnders has confirmed that Harry Reid is leaving the show.

Reid has played Ben Mitchell since 2014, but in the coming months will be shooting his final scenes as part of an exit storyline that will air before the end of this year.

"We can confirm that Harry will be leaving EastEnders," a spokesperson for the soap told Digital Spy.

Related: Soap Movers – who's leaving, returning and joining in EastEnders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks?

"Harry has been a great addition to the cast and we wish him all the best for the future."

This isn't the first time Ben has left Albert Square, of course, having been played by multiple actors in the past.

Reid is the fifth star to take on the role of Phil Mitchell's son, and during his stint – which began three years ago on September 22, 2014 – he has been involved in a number of high-profile storylines including Abi Branning's faked pregnancy.

Recent episodes have shown Ben hooking up with Luke Browning, and it looks like things are getting more serious.

Could this current storyline play a part in how Harry Reid's character departs from the soap?


Digital Spy

[kaz21]

I just hope it doesn't lead to Jay leaving also.