Joshua Pascoe

Ben Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who has been played by six different actors since his on-screen birth on 21 March 1996.

Matthew Silver appeared as an infant Ben between 1996 and 1998, and Morgan Whittle played him as a toddler between 1999 and 2001.

Ben is born to Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and his then wife Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) in March 1996.

Ben becomes ill and is rushed to hospital, where he is diagnosed with meningitis and he is left partially deaf in one ear.

As Kathy gives Ben all her affection, Phil turns to alcohol and has an affair with Lorna Cartwright (Janet Dibley), resulting in the breakdown of their marriage.

In 1998, Kathy moves to South Africa and takes Ben with her.

He accompanies her on two return visits in 1999 before returning with her to South Africa in early 2000.

In 2001, Kathy marries a man named Gavin Sullivan (then an unseen character; later played by Paul Nicholas).

The same year, Ben briefly returns to stay with Phil who then takes him back to South Africa.

After a five-year absence from the series, Charlie Jones assumed the role of Ben in 2006.

In 2006, the residents hear that Kathy and Gavin have been killed in a car accident, so Ben (now played by Charlie Jones) returns to England to live with his half-brother, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt).

He eventually moves in with Phil, after Phil wins a long custody battle.

Ben dislikes Phil's new girlfriend Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson), who in turn feels that Ben is intruding on their relationship.

She abuses Ben physically and psychologically, from burning him with a hot spoon, also attempting to spoil his friendship with Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald) when she discovers this, to threatening to kill Phil if Ben tells anyone about her actions.

Phil and Stella become engaged.

However, the storyline where Ben was abused by Stella won "Best Storyline" at the 2007 Inside Soap Awards, and was nominated for the "Best Soap Storyline" accolade at the TV Quick and TV Choice Awards.

On their wedding day in July 2007, Ben admits that Stella has been abusing him; she commits suicide by jumping from a roof.

Phil, a recovering alcoholic, begins drinking again in the aftermath, but resumes a life of sobriety for Ben's sake.

Unbeknown to Phil, Ben develops an interest in dancing.

He secretly takes classes, passing a dance exam, and is ultimately able to gain Phil's approval.

In 2010, the character was recast with Joshua Pascoe in the role, who made his first appearance on 13 December 2010.

In March 2010, Phil's daughter Louise Mitchell (Brittany Papple) comes to stay with the Mitchell family.

She steals Ben's diary and fakes an entry which suggests he is gay.

In retaliation, Ben burns Louise's hand the same way Stella burnt his.

He later locks Louise in a summerhouse for a day in May 2010, then pretends to find her to earn approval from his father.

Louise blames Jordan Johnson (Michael-Joel David Stuart), an acquaintance of Ben's, but when Phil sees burn marks on Louise's arm, she reveals that Ben is to blame.

Phil worries Ben is copying Stella, and punches him when he catches Ben about to burn Louise again.

Questioned as to why he hurt Louise, Ben claims that Jordan is bullying him.

Phil advises Ben to fight back; soon after, Ben attacks Jordan with a spanner, leaving him with a fractured skull.

Pascoe quit the role in 2012 and Ben departed on 24 August 2012.

In 2012, Pascoe was nominated "Villain of the Year", but lost out to Andrew Lancel (Coronation Street).

Lisa O'Connell, also writing for The Guardian, was complimentary of Ben's later, protracted coming out storyline, which she called "a perfect foundation for years of dramatic conflict".

Ben's return was announced in May 2014 with Harry Reid in the role; Ben returned on 22 September 2014.

Reid was written out of the series in 2017 and Ben departed on 12 January 2018.

Ben was reintroduced in 2019 with the role recast to Max Bowden.

Ben returned on 1 April 2019.

In December 2023, it was announced Bowden would exit the role in 2024.

Ben's storylines include: a feud between the show's Mitchell and Beale families for his custody; developing a love of dance and the arts, which is a source of tension between him and his father, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden); being physically and mentally abused by Phil's girlfriend Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson); struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality and then attempting to hide it before coming out; being imprisoned for manslaughter after unintentionally killing Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison); having a daughter, Lexi Pearce, with Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold), finding out his mother Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) is still alive after faking her own death, relationships with Paul Coker (Jonny Labey) and the closeted Callum Highway (Tony Clay), coming to terms with Paul's death in a homophobic attack, being shot by Hunter Owen (Charlie Winter), blackmailing Martin Fowler (James Bye), losing his hearing after sustaining an injury during a boat crash, going into crime with Danny Hardcastle (Paul Usher), featuring in a male rape storyline, in which Ben is raped by Lewis Butler (Aidan O'Callaghan), and suffering from bulimia.

As played by Jones, Ben received generally poor reviews from critics.

Grace Dent of The Guardian wrote several negative opinion pieces on the character, and contacted the BBC with a list of suggestions for humorous storylines in which he could be killed off.