EastEnders' Max Bowden on Ben's surprise bond in bulimia story

The BBC soap is airing an issue-based storyline for Ben, who's secretly struggling with an eating disorder.

First announced in April, Ben's ED story continues after he experienced extreme guilt for not being there to say goodbye to Lola Pearce-Brown (Danielle Harold) before her passing, as well as seeing her husband Jay's (Jamie Borthwick) growing bond with his daughter Lexi (Isabella Brown).

These feelings become especially intense ahead of Jay's parental hearing, with Ben feeling more isolated than ever.

In upcoming scenes, the character will open up to Kat (Jessie Wallace), finding some common ground with his stepmother-to-be within the trauma.

"Kat's a very fiery character and there are a lot of similarities between her and Ben," the actor told RadioTimes.com and other press.

"Aspects of trauma, aspects of fieriness, family problems, and I think this takes Ben by surprise. Ben finds strength within strength, and Kat is a very strong woman and she's also the closest link to his father."

Read the Q&A in full below.

We know Ben's had a really tough time recently, and is continuing to suffer in silence. Can you talk us through how he’s feeling at this point?

I think there's a level of isolation to Ben's demeanour at the moment. He tends to be quite a lone wolf, quite an insular human being, and this is something that he does to try and take control of the situation - so I think, for him, right now it's a question of dealing with everything on the outside by attacking himself on the inside.

Ben has mixed feelings towards Jay's parental hearing. Can you unpick these for us?

It's an accumulation of feelings. In essence, it's the fact that Ben has never felt quite good enough. With Lola's passing, Ben has seen the relationship blossom between Jay and Lexi, and he's found it quite difficult because he wants to be that role model figure for Lexi. He wants to be that figure that can be the support and the guide and the light that she needs, and I think with everything else going on alongside that, Ben's self-loathing is at a real high at the moment.

He's got guilt for not arriving home in time to say goodbye to Lola, the guilt of making himself sick through his bulimia, and he sees a lot of good qualities in Jay that he wishes he could replicate.

This week, we see Honey reach out to Ben as she's started to realise that something is seriously wrong, but he doesn't take too kindly to her meddling. Can you talk us through how he reacts and why?

Ben's default setting is to defend, so he'll always defend himself when he feels like he's on the back foot. Honey immediately picks up on Ben's struggles, having suffered an eating disorder herself, so she can start the see the signs.

They have also gone through a period of bonding with the family coming together after Lola's death, but the internal damage that Ben holds on to forces him to push everyone away. We are starting to see little sparks of growth with him, but defence is his immediate reaction.

Later in the week, Ben opens up to Kat as they both talk about their shared experiences. Does Ben feel like a weight has been lifted?

It's a very unique situation because I don't think anyone ever saw Ben confiding so deeply in Kat and finding real common ground with his stepmother-to-be. Kat's a very fiery character and there are a lot of similarities between Ben and Kat. Aspects of trauma, aspects of fieriness, family problems, and I think this takes Ben by surprise.

Ben finds strength within strength, and Kat is a very strong woman and she's also the closest link to his father. Ben can't talk to Phil because he just doesn't get things like this.

Those scenes must be incredibly tough to film. How has working with the charities and your own research helped inform your performance?

Research is the key to any performance, and it's so important to us that we get it right. The charity [Beat] are great, especially with informing scripts and making sure we're showing Ben's situation in a way that doesn't glorify eating disorders - because there is nothing glorified about Ben's situation right now. It's so pivotal and key that we get it right, and the charity have been amazing.

Anyone affected by an eating disorder can find help and support by visiting Beat, or calling the charity's helpline on 0808 801 0677.

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EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and from 6am on BBC iPlayer. Visit our dedicated EastEnders page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers. If you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide.

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