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Ben Mitchell (previously Sullivan) is the son of Phil Mitchell and Kathy Cotton, as well as being father of Lexi, brother of Louise, Raymond, Ian, Donna and Albie as well as the husband of Callum Highway. He was born in Walford and made his first appearance on 21 March 1996.

His grandmother, Peggy Mitchell, wanted to name him after his grandfather, Eric Mitchell, but Kathy refused, naming him Ben, in the episode that aired on 8 April 1996. It is often assumed to be short for Benjamin, but this is not the case, as reiterated by Ben to Danny Hardcastle during a conversation in Kathy's Cafe on 18 April 2019.

Returns

Ben Mitchell as child had a relatively stable upbringing. He lived with his mother Kathy Beale and father Phil Mitchell until they broke up and Kathy moved to South Africa, taking Ben with her. They lived there for the next six years with Kathy's new love Gavin Sullivan. When Kathy supposedly died in February 2006 after a car accident with Gavin, Ben moved back to Walford to live with Phil, who at first struggles to bond with Ben as Ben seems closed off. However, eventually Ben accepts life with the Mitchell's. Ben wasn't what people expected Phil's son to be as he was very much into things like dancing and ballet instead of football and boxing.

Abi stands up to Stella

Abi stands up for Ben to Stella after discovering her abuse towards Ben.

In 2007, Ben was abused physically and mentally by Phil's new love interest, Stella Crawford on top of being bullied at school. When Phil found out what Stella was doing to Ben he goes after her, but Stella commits suicide due to been found out. Ben had a few years where he seemed pretty well looked after and reserved but a feud with Jordan Johnson leads to Ben attacking Jordan, nearly killing him. With Ben now old enough is sentenced, he goes to prison in young offenders where he starts to be a victim of bullying yet again.

Ben returns later in 2010 and goes down a darker and villainous path. During this period, Ben seems short tempered but it is likely due to the fact he is battling his sexuality. Also in 2010, Phil fights for custody of his daughter Louise Mitchell - which he wins. Ben does not like his sister and physically abuses her, by burning her with hot spoons - like Stella did to him. When Phil finds out what Ben has been doing, he grabs and punches him - making Ben fall to the ground.

Ben's most shocking action was when he killed Heather Trott in March 2012 and set up his father whom helped cover up for the crime. Phil returns from prison moments after Heather dies. Ultimately Ben is overcome with guilt and confesses to the police. They don't believe him at first, but he is later arrested for murder. He is charged the next day but in October 2012, Ben's murder charge is dropped and Phil is told he will be tried for manslaughter, to which he will plead guilty. July 2012, Lola Pearce gave birth to Ben’s daughter Lexi, who was conceived following a one night stand when Lola was trying to help Ben figure out whether or not he liked woman.

Ben later returned in 2014 where he went down somewhat of a redemption path showing great remorse for killing Heather. However, Ben is still shown as short tempered and ashamed of being gay. Ben even gets into a relationship with former friend Abi Branning to hide the fact he is gay. However, after a stern talking to from his best friend Jay Brown, Ben soon comes to accept his sexuality and embarks on relationships with the likes of Paul Coker and Luke Browning. Ben leaves Walford again in January 2018.

In April 2019, well over a year after his departure, Ben again returns along with the mother of his child Lola and his daughter Lexi - with Ben explaining that he was working in Newcastle and didn’t want to miss out on Lexi growing up, so while he was there he visited his daughter regularly. Ben seems to have a very good bond with Lexi and in turn, she seems to worship her father. Shortly after their return, Ben begins a relationship with Callum Highway, who Lexi absolutely adores. In May 2021, Ben and Callum get married.

Storylines

1996-2010: Early life

Ben was born to Kathy and Phil Mitchell in March 1996. Ben becomes ill and is rushed to the 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, resulting in the breakdown of their marriage. In 1998, Kathy moved to South Africa and took 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 married a man named Gavin Sullivan. The same year, Ben briefly returns to stay with Phil who then takes him back to South Africa. It was revealed by Phil that Ben went by Gavin’s Last name when him and Kathy married.

Abi stands up to Stella

Abi stands up for Ben after she discovers Stella's abuse towards him.

Phil comforts Ben

Ben tells Phil about Stella's abuse towards him.

In 2006, the residents heard that Kathy and Gavin had been killed in a car accident, so Ben returns to England to live with his half-brother, Ian Beale but he eventually moves in with Phil, after Phil wins a lengthy custody battle. Ben dislikes Phil's new girlfriend Stella Crawford, 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 when she discovers this, to threatening to kill Phil if Ben tells anyone about her actions. Phil and Stella become engaged. 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.

2010-2012: Turning killer

In March 2010, Phil's daughter Louise came 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, an acquaintance of Ben's, but when Phil sees burn marks on Louise's arm, she reveals that Ben is to blame and Phil worries Ben is copying Stella. When Phil catches Ben trying to burn Louise with a hot spoon, he grabs and punches him, making Ben fall to the ground.

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. Phil warns him against admitting to the attack, but Ben confesses and moves in with Ian. After hearing from Crown Court, Ben could spend time in juvenile detention, Phil plans to send him to live with his brother Grant abroad. Still, Ben refuses, thanks to his grandmother, Peggy, making him change his mind, after Phil's girlfriend Shirley Carter overhears Phil discussing the plans to Ben and receives an eight-month sentence as a result. In July 2010, Phil indeed blamed Peggy for Ben's sentencing. Ben tells Peggy and Phil he is coping despite being bullied by Cal Childs, and when the Mitchell family discovers this, Ben asks them not to visit him.

Ben, is released and arrives home to discover Jay Brown, the foster child of Phil's relative Billy, has usurped his place in Phil's affections. Ben is jealous of Jay initially but does develop a 'brotherly' relationship with him. Ben vents his anger at those who cross him, punching Phil in the face and pushing Phil's aunt Glenda down a flight of stairs for ruining his homecoming party.

Ben tells Phil that he is gay

Ben tells Phil he is gay.

Ben attends a gym and shares his first kiss with a boxer called Duncan Willis. When they are seen kissing by shopkeeper Patrick Trueman, Ben throws a brick through Patrick's window and tries to intimidate him into not going public about his homosexuality. Phil observes and misinterprets their altercation, believing Patrick is assaulting Ben. He launches a vendetta against Patrick. After Duncan confronts Ben about his victimisation of Patrick he tells him their kiss didn't mean anything and cuts ties with him, Ben confesses to Phil. Disgusted his son is gay, Phil pushes Ben away, terrified his homosexuality will ruin his reputation. Ben develops feelings for Christian Clarke, who is also gay but engaged to his boyfriend, Syed Masood. Ben tries to split them up and attempts to kiss Christian. After being rejected, Ben claims Christian touched him inappropriately as revenge. Phil goes into a violent rampage, hitting Christian with a baseball bat, which prompts Ben to admit the truth. In the wake of this, Phil tries to accept Ben's homosexuality. Billy's granddaughter, Lola Pearceoffers to have sex with Ben to test his sexuality. Ben loses his virginity to Lola in October 2011 and concludes that he is gay. Ben is later concerned to discover Lola is pregnant; however, she denies he is the father.

Ben continues to feel angst towards Phil for rejecting him. He anonymously stalks Phil, terrorising him with evidence about his past crimes, including a newspaper clip of the death of Steve Owen. DCI Jill Marsden, who has been attempting to imprison Phil for over a decade, opens an investigation. She interviews Ben regarding Stella's death in 2007. Ben tells her that Phil forced Stella to jump off a building on the threat of being pushed. Phil plans to flee the country before the arrest but is stalled by Ben, who reveals himself as his father's stalker. Phil is charged with Stella's murder, and when the Mitchell family discover Ben's involvement in his father's arrest, they disown him. Ben's brother Ian eventually discovers Ben lied to DCI Marsden and informs the police. Phil is released; however, Ben mistakingly believes he has been betrayed by Heather Trott, who also knows he set Phil up. He confronts Heather in fear and desperation, and hits her over the head with a metal picture frame, killing her. Phil returns from prison moments after Heather dies. Feeling responsible for his son's behaviour, Phil covers up Ben's involvement with Jay's help, who was present when Heather was killed. Shirley, Phil's fiancée, discovers Heather's body, and as she was her best friend, she vows to find the killer. Worried she would discover the truth, Ben convinces Phil to break-up with Shirley and she is thrown out of their home, while Jay is so traumatised by Heather's murder that he moves out of the Mitchells'. Ben and Phil wrestle with guilt and regularly argue, with Phil turning to alcohol. Needing to confide in someone, Ben admits his crime to Ian; the confession contributes to Ian's mental breakdown, and amidst threats from Phil to stay silent, Ian absconds, leaving Phil and Ben searching for him to no avail.

Ben fails to dispose of the photo frame, and it is taken by Jean Slater, who is collecting for charity. It is put into the charity shop and later is discovered by Shirley, who realises it is the murder weapon. Tracing it back to the Mitchell house, she confronts Phil, believing him to be the killer, but Ben gives himself away during the argument. Shirley is furious and nearly drowns Ben, but Phil intervenes and convinces Shirley to talk to Ben about why he killed Heather. However, they find Ben gone and he confesses to the police. DCI Marsden does not believe him at first, but he is later arrested for murder. He is charged the next day, and Phil's solicitor Ritchie Scott informs Phil that Ben could face up to 10 years in prison. Phil tries to persuade Ben to change his statement; however, Ben insists that he needs to be punished. Ben refuses to have any contact with anyone until he is released. In October 2012, Ben's murder charge was dropped, and Phil is told he will be tried for manslaughter, to which he will plead guilty. Ben then agrees to a visit from Phil, and Phil plans to tell Ben that he is the father of Lola's daughter, Lexi Pearce, though he decides not to. Ben is sentenced to four years imprisonment and discovers he is Lexi's father after a visit from Lola.

2014-2018: Release, redemption path and relationships

After witnessing Ian's grief following his daughter Lucy's murder, Phil decides to get in touch with Ben; however, Ritchie reveals that Ben was released the previous month. Phil cannot get hold of him, although Jay has seen Ben twice since his release. In September, Ben returns to Walford when he learns that Phil is having an affair with Shirley days before his wedding to Sharon. Ben initially tries to convince his father to reunite with Shirley but forms a bond with Sharon when she accepts him into the family and acts as Phil's best man at the wedding. After the wedding, Shirley shoots Phil whilst struggling with Sharon. Ronnie asks Ben and Jay to get rid of the gun. Ben meets Johnny Carter and is attracted to him, but when Johnny makes a move, Ben reacts badly and says he is not gay and that his interest in men was a phase. He then starts a relationship with Abi to prove it to Phil and Johnny. When Johnny later leaves the square, he tells Ben not to hide who he truly is. Although Ben continues to deny his attraction to men, he later misinterprets a brotherly moment with Jay and tries to kiss him. Jay later tells Abi, but then lies and says he made it up when he sees how upset she is. Ben eventually confesses to Abi that he's still attracted to men but, desperate to keep him, Abi decides to stay with him, saying their relationship is about more than sex. However, Ben is later seen looking at a gay contacts app on his smartphone.

Ben had instructed Jay to bury Lucy's purse and phone, which has been missing since her death. Denise Fox digs them up in Patrick Trueman's allotment and takes them to Ian, who calls the police before Ben convinces him that he found them on Good Friday in a bag in the Square and had no part in Lucy's murder. Ian lies to the police and protects Ben. When Phil is arrested on suspicion of attempting to kill Ronnie, he puts Ben in charge of his garage. Max Branning starts helping him with deals, only to trick Ben into signing over the garage to him as revenge for the death of his girlfriend Emma Summerhayes, which Max has blamed Phil for, though Phil eventually gets the garage back. Ben then starts a sexual relationship with Paul Coker, whilst maintaining his relationship with Abi. Ben grows frustrated with Abi's controlling behaviour, and she is suspicious, so Ben has sex with her to allay her fears. Phil catches Ben and Paul half-naked together at the car lot, and angrily tells Ben to leave as he broke his trust, both in hiding his homosexuality and being loyal to Abi. Ben ends his relationship with Paul, leaving Paul heartbroken. Paul tries to speak to Ben on numerous occasions but fails to win Ben's affections over. Ben and Abi decide to find their own home after realising they can no longer stay with Phil after Sharon leaves him. Ben and Paul flirt and arrange to go to the cinema, but when Abi finds them and leaves in anger feeling Ben is not taking their plans seriously, Ben follows her, leaving Paul alone. Paul later tells Ben that he loves him and says Ben must decide who wants and accept who he is. To give himself more time, Ben books tickets for Abi to visit a friend on holiday, and then tells Paul he loves him back. Jay sees them kissing, and tells Ben to admit to Abi that he loves Paul. When Phil is later sent to the hospital and informed that he would be dead within 12 months unless he has a liver transplant, Ben, alongside Sharon and Jay, refuse to visit him, and Sharon has him change the locks on the house so Phil cannot enter when he is discharged.

Ben kisses Abi

Ben seduces Abi.

Ben comes to terms with the fact that his mother Kathy has returned to Walford after faking her death at the hands of her husband, Gavin. He initially refuses to talks to her, disgusted at the fact that she pretended to be dead for almost ten years, but they reconcile. After Abi returns from her trip to Paris with her friend, she realises that Ben may be having an affair with Paul. Ben plans to break up with Abi, but Abi has been manipulated by Babe Smith, who tells her to announce she is pregnant so that Ben will not leave her. Abi does this publicly and then plans to get pregnant for real, but Ben says they cannot have sex because he thinks he may have caught an STI from a stranger, so Abi resorts to having sex with Lee Carter to try to get pregnant. Ben discovers he has chlamydia, and Abi also has it. She later fakes a miscarriage in an attempt to end her pregnancy lie, but when she upsets Babe, Babe writes Ben a letter revealing the truth. The message is read by Louise, who has returned and to keep her from showing it to Ben, Abi allows her to use Phil's credit card. When Ben finds the card, he confronts Abi, but she believes he found the letter so inadvertently reveals she was never pregnant and says that Louise was blackmailing her. Ben takes revenge on Louise in The Queen Vic by putting her head in the toilet. He then seduces Abi and takes her top off, but then drags her into the main bar of the pub, revealing via a karaoke microphone that she invented the pregnancy. Ben then resumes his relationship with Paul with the support of most of his friends and family. Following an agreement with Les and Pam, who make plans to retire and leave Walford, Ben and Paul make arrangements to become the new managers of Coker and Sons. In celebration, they spend a night out together and are not seen the next day again. Ben's family are alerted by the police that a dead young man whom they believe to be Ben has been found, having been involved in a fight, but upon inspection, the victim is revealed to be Paul. Ben is found by Buster Briggs in SoHo, after managing to make his way back to Walford, albeit with significant injuries. He explains that he and Paul were cornered by four large men and chased after coming out of a night club, and were separated when running away. When informed of Paul's death, he lashes out in a violent rage, before breaking down in tears in Kathy and Phil's arms.

Ben later visits the Queen Vic to join his neighbours in a toast to Paul's memory, but Paul's grandmother Pam blames him for Paul's death and dubs him the worst thing to ever happen to Paul, wishing he had died instead. Ben hopes the same, and later confesses to Johnny that he and Paul were victims of homophobic name-calling, and despite Paul insisting they ignore the culprits, Ben confronted the men, causing the attack, and thus blames himself for Paul's death. Johnny encourages Ben to report this to the police, and Ben recognises one of the attackers outside the police station. Using the man's car registration number, he gets an address and demands a gun from Phil to seek revenge. Phil tricks Ben and does not get a gun, so Ben goes missing. He returns, having failed to find the man. Paul's body is released, and Ben realises Jay has been using cocaine. Jay and Ben decide to help each other move on from their problems, so Ben decides to let the police find the attackers. However, Ben and Jay change their minds, agreeing to take revenge and then leave Walford together. Louise worries that Ben may be about to get into trouble so asks help from Paul's grandfather Les, who tells Ben not to put his family through what he and Pam are going through, as Ben could be killed too. Ben does promise not to track down Paul's killers, but when Jay finds an address and says Ben will regret doing nothing, Ben and Jay leave. They return to Walford after Louise calls to the police, but are then kidnapped by the attackers at the Mitchell home. Ben is rescued by his uncle, Grant, and Grant's son Mark Fowler. Jay, who the killers trapped in a van, flees when the police appear. Ben later says a farewell to Jay, who leaves Walford shortly after Paul's funeral and Jay says that they will always be brothers. However, he returns not too long after. Not wanting Phil to die, Ben decides to donate part of his liver to him, but a doctor tells them it will still take time. Despite Ben's discovery that Phil has cut him out of his will, he proceeds with his plan to donate part of his liver. Still, he is refused by the hospital who are unsatisfied with his answers and emotional responses when interviewed. However, Phil eventually gets a liver transplant.

While Phil and Sharon are on holiday, Ben and Jay move to their own house. On Ben's 21st birthday, Jay throws the pair a housewarming party, where Ben and Johnny have a one-night stand after getting drunk. The next day, they both worry that the other wants a relationship but are relieved to realise they see each other as friends. After Louise suffers severe burns following a disaster at a school prom, against Sharon's request, Ben calls Phil who is Italy recovering from his transplant. Ben signs the paperwork for The Arches when Phil decides to hand it over to him and Sharon is left stunned when he chooses to give Jay the car lot land. Kathy insists to Phil that he justifies his reasons to Ben about giving Jay the car-lot land that is worth more than The Arches. Ben finds a solicitor's letter of Phil's that mentions Raymond, and after confronting Phil, Phil tells Ben that Raymond is his half-brother. Ben is angry with Phil for making him feel second best to Phil and Sharon's other children. Ben learns that Phil offered Jay the car lot out of guilt for killing his apparent biological father, Alan Hall, a victim of the car lot fire that Phil had caused 23 years previously in an insurance scam. After a fight with Jay, they make amends.

Ben meets Luke Browning, the son of James Willmott-Brown, who raped Kathy 30 years previously but is unaware of his identity. They end up kissing and start a sexual relationship until Ben learns of Luke's family background when Willmott-Brown secretly visits Kathy. Ben goes to see Luke to confront Willmott-Brown. When Ben meets Willmott-Brown in his office, he confronts him over his actions towards Kathy with a crowbar. Willmott-Brown tells Ben that the sex was consensual and convinces him that he should doubt Kathy's honesty. Ben almost attacks Willmott-Brown but Luke stops him. Feeling that Ben does not trust her, Kathy considers leaving Walford. Ben reluctantly decides to end his relationship with Luke due to the conflicts of interest between Kathy and Willmott-Brown. After a heart to heart with Ben, Kathy decides to remain in Walford and gives Ben and Luke's relationship with her blessing. Ben plays a prank on Luke, which backfires when Luke grabs Ben's wrist and threatens him. However, Luke later apologises. Ben accidentally takes Luke's wallet and finds a business card with the words 'Project Dagmar', and confronts Luke about the project as the Dagmar was the bar that Willmott-Brown owned and Kathy worked in when he raped her. Luke lashes out at Ben and physically threatens him. Realising that Ben is a risk to the project being exposed, Luke ends their relationship. Hurt and confused, Ben asks Abi's sister Lauren, who works for Luke's firm, Weyland & Co, about the project but she does not know about it. Luke tries to apologise to Ben by buying him a car. Still, Ben continues to reject Luke and he attacks and brutally beats Ben, so Phil asked his old prison cellmate Aidan Maguire for help and have Luke kidnapped, and he is not seen again; it later transpires that Luke was brutally killed by Aidan despite Phil's merely requesting that they scare Luke and not kill him.

Following Luke's death and Willmott-Brown's eventual downfall, Phil joins Aidan in a planned heist, and they use The Arches to steal the money. However, the stolen money and jewellery goes missing, and it is revealed that Ben realised what was going on and stole it from the funeral home where it was being hidden. He sells the jewellery but keeps one necklace, giving it to Kathy, and then plans to leave the country. He goes after writing a note for Jay. He is cornered on the ferry by his former sister in law Mel Owen who warns him to give her the money or he will soon be dead. Ben refuses, saying he only took what he deserved. Mel makes a phone call to someone, telling them that Ben is all theirs. When Ben arrives in France, he is stunned to find newspapers have replaced the money. However, he is relieved to discover an envelope full of cash in his pocket. Ben gleefully heads for a new life, unaware that Aidan's former wife Ciara is watching him.

2019 to present: Gangster lifestyle, marriage to Callum Highway, rape and eating disorder

Ben's 2019 return

Ben's 2019 return.

When Phil and Keanu Taylor end up in some trouble in Spain, Phil forges Ben's signature, causing Kathy to call Ben to come home, Ben returns with Lola and their daughter, Lexi, and after seeing the trouble Phil is in, he agrees to help him. However, it is soon revealed Ben is planning to steal Phil's money and leave him broke and he makes Lola follow every instruction, causing him to get annoyed when she ignores him and ends up kissing Jay in The Queen Vic. However it's soon revealed Lola has a fiancé called Ewan.

Ben secretly witnesses Callum "Halfway" Highway attempting to harm himself in the playground. After Ben talks to Callum about the incident, Callum then purchases a van from Ben as a gift to his girlfriend Whitney Dean, although he is later pulled over by the police, who inform him that the truck is stolen. Callum confronts Ben and demands a refund; when Callum attacks him, Ben realises that Callum is attracted to men, which Callum denies. He then punches Ben when he mocks him. The two later share a kiss. Callum continues to deny his attraction men while Ben knows he is living a lie so Callum proposes to Whitney and she agrees. When Ben learns that Phil has replaced him with Keanu in his will, he is furious. However, he later witnesses Stacey Fowler attack Phil with a wrench, to stop the latter from killing her husband, Martin Fowler. He tells them to leave the scene, saying he will sort it out. Martin and Stacey go on the run to avoid prison. Ben incriminates Keanu in the attack which leads to the latter's arrest. Ben later attempts to kill Phil in hospital but is stopped by Jay. When Phil regains consciousness, Ben tells him that Keanu, who has gone on the run with Louise, who is pregnant with his child, attacked him. However, Phil does not believe him and Stacey's cousin Kat Moon tells him that she attacked him to stop him from killing Martin, thereby covering for Stacey. Ben later admits to Phil that Keanu had nothing to do with the attack and that he framed him because he knows about Phil's will. Furious, Phil disowns Ben.

On the day before Callum and Whitney's wedding, Callum confesses to Whitney that he kissed Ben, leading her to call off their wedding. Just as Whitney is about to expose Callum's secret to the packed pub, all of the residents are held hostage by Hunter Owen, who has escaped prison. Ben is shot in the siege but is revived by Sonia Fowler. The attack on Ben leads to Phil forgiving his son and Ben and Callum also get together. Martin soon returns to Walford to care for his daughter, Bex Fowler. He pleads with Ben to dispose of the wrench Stacey used to attack Phil so that she and his kids can return home. However, Ben blackmails Martin into getting involved in criminal jobs for him, saying he will let Stacey come home when he wants to. Ben does dispose of the wrench but further blackmails Martin with footage of him stealing a car. An angry Martin punches Ben, and it is then that a past incident of Martin dangling Ben from a railway bridge when he was a child is revisited. Ben says that he is more prominent now and will not back down easily. Martin turns to Jack Branning, who has recently rejoined the police for advice, and he gets Ben and his accomplices arrested. Ben is however released on bail. He confronts Martin and the next morning; he tells Martin that he is sorry for what he has put him through and that Stacey is free to return to Walford. However, that evening, Ben and his henchmen kidnap Martin and hang him off the railway bridge, just as Martin did to Ben when he was younger. Ben threatens to have Stacey and their kids killed if she does not stay away and if Martin does not continue working for him. During the Christmas season after finding out, that Keanu Taylor is the father of his stepmother's unborn baby he helps Phil with Martin to kidnap him. Martin fails to kill Keanu and fakes the plan. He shows Ben a video of Keanu being shot which unknown to Ben was taken with the help of Linda Carter and Ben believes he has helped to kill a man, which unsettles him.

During his mission with Martin, which unknown to Ben didn't go to plan, Ben pushed Callum away out of fear that he was going to hurt him as he believed Callum deserved better. A heartbroken Callum left Walford for a while whilst Ben dealt with his issues. Ben started to reach breaking point as he missed what he had with Callum and eventually in an episode mid January Callum returns and the two sleep together in the car lot. A still guilty Ben decides to tell Callum that he had something to do with a man being murdered in hopes he can 'still love him'. Callum's reaction takes a turn and Ben decided it's best to leave Walford for good with Louise and her baby daughter Peggy.

As Ben leaves Walford behind 'for good' he has a last minute glimpse of hope as he passes Callum in the taxi on the way to the airport. He speaks with Phil and decides to stay. He runs through the square and the pair reunite. All seems back on track until Ben finds that Callum has gone 'missing' later to find out he had been kidnapped by Keanu Taylor who unknown to Ben was still very much alive.

Phil and Ben boat crash Doof-Doof

Ben pulls a gun on Phil.

Ben makes it his mission to find Callum whilst keeping the secret of Keanu being alive from his dad, Phil Mitchell. Ben worries that when Phil finds out Keanu survived that he would kill him himself, leading to nobody knowing where he took Callum. A distraught Ben does everything he can before finding out that Keanu and Phil were going to be at the Queen Victoria boat party which took place on the River Thames. Ben threatens to shoot Phil in the head if he doesn't let Keanu go, it ends in a brawl where Phil knocks the steering of the boat and they go overboard. Leading to the boat crashing and flooding killing Ben's adoptive brother Dennis. When the boat goes overboard Ben hits his head which adds to a previous hearing problem he had when he was younger leading to him losing his hearing 'permanently'.

Although devastated by his loss of hearing, Ben still wants to find Callum and later on that week Ben, Jay and Callum's brother Stuart Highway make their way to an abandoned warehouse where they suspect Callum is being kept. Unable to hear Ben franticly searches for something that would hint Callum was there. He finds a medal on the floor which appears to belong to Callum's grandfather. After some more searching they find Callum on the floor injured and unconscious.

Ben struggles with his hearing loss in the months after the boat crash. Ben feels that Phil will no longer want him to work in the family's business since he has a hearing struggle and tries to prove himself by going on a job with Phil, despite an agreement with Callum that he would stop his 'dodgy doings' where he comes head to head with Danny Hardcastle who shoots him by the ear causing it to bleed and causing Ben's hearing to significantly worsen. He eventually loses all hearing. After accepting that he is fully deaf and trying to learn a few sign language tips from Lexi, he realises he needs to try and get an operation for a cochlear implant. Ben worries that his hearing may never come back and during a screening for his first operation he gets turned away for being sick. He becomes increasingly frustrated and takes it out on those around him.

A few months later after lockdown due to Lockdown, Ben and Callum are happy to see each other after being apart and Ben is planning on asking Callum to move in with him using a key he put in a ring box. Ben goes to the hospital for his Cochlear appointment, Callum runs late at work, his implant works and starts being able to hear just as Callum arrives. Ben becomes stressed when Callum doesn’t seem interested that Ben has his hearing “back”, he starts interigating Ben over Danny. Ben finds Callum at The Prince Albert and is relieved to know that Callum’s mood is over Danny and not over the thought of Callum staying with him over pity of his hearing loss, Ben proceeds to tell Callum that he only lied to his because of his job and he was protecting him. Ben finds out that Callum discovered his lies through the CCTV he was watching while finding evidence on Danny and Ben later begs Callum to get rid of it during an argument. Ben apologises to Callum for putting him between his job and their relationship telling Callum he doesn’t want to loose him to which Callum reassures him that he isn’t going to, Ben then asks Callum to move in with him, he becomes upset when Callum assumes he did this last minute to fix everything, not realising it was already planned causing Ben to walk out. Later, Callum tells Ben that he hates the arguing which Ben agrees with and apologises telling Callum he was worried he would put his job before him, Callum tells Ben he wouldn’t put anything before him and he loves him before proceeding to tell Ben he will try to delay the enhancing of the CCTV. Ben tries to figure out a way to keep the police off his back and tells Callum that they need to set Danny up.

Ben refuses to tell Callum the plan to set up Danny so he doesn’t have to lie to his bosses at the station. Callum tries to make Ben promise that if he was to do something stupid to speak to his dad about it. Ben tells Phil about the CCTV as well as the plan to turn Danny into the police, however, Phil refuses to help as he doesn’t want to be deemed a “grass” and begs Ben to let it go. Ben asks Jay to help by getting him to plant a bag of money from the warehouse into Danny’s car boot and call the police while Ben distracts him, he tells Danny that there’s no hard feelings and the “war” is over.

Ben and Callum get ready to go to Stuart stag night and he tells Callum that stolen cash was found in Danny’s car, Callum is unhappy to learn Phil doesn’t know about it, Ben tells him that Phil wouldn’t listen, he proceeds to tell Callum that he should have told him but he didn’t want to lie to him anymore and he’s sorry, Callum tells him that he’s glad for the honesty. Callum takes Ben up on his offer to move in with him before DI Steve Thompson turns up at their house to arrest Ben for armed robbery, he finds out that Danny is willing to grass him up to which Ben tells D.I Thompson he doesn’t know him, he sees that they have a statement to which Ben takes out his processor so he doesn’t have to listen and demands a lawyer. Ben is released under investigation and is convinced that Callum deleted the CCTV, Phil tells Ben not to relay on Callum to save him to which Ben tells him that he trusts him, Phil proceeds to tell him that Ben is better off trusting him, Ben responds saying that he trusts them both. Phil later tells Ben that him and Ritchie would both have their money betted on Ben going to prison and tells Ben he is convinced they let him go because they have got something bigger planned for the both of them and blames Ben for “grassing”. Ben and Phil get into an argument, Phil blames Ben for using the “Mitchell Name” in vain by not sticking to the rules and tells Ben they have a target on their backs. Ben then tells Phil to compare notes over how many times they’ve had to rebuild their family name over something Phil did, Callum then intervenes and tells Phil he overheard his bosses talking and Danny wanted the case dropped but weren’t willing to let him go for Ben as he is a bigger catch.

While in the cafe with Stuart and Callum, Ben laughs over the thought of his dad and his boyfriend being best mates to which Callum says that they have been getting on well and talking a lot, when Ben realises he’s being serious he questions him and is informed by Callum, that Phil has offered him a job in the family firm, which Ben is unhappy about. Ben is livid over the thought that this would require inside information but Callum thinks Ben is overreacting, Ben tell Callum that he’s the good within the relationship and that is the reason he loves him and proceeds to say that he has the most bad in him for them both. Ben is confused as to why someone like Callum would risk his job and his future to suddenly get his hands dirty, when Ben sees Phil he tells him that he isn’t up to it and makes his anger known, Phil tells Ben that Callum is part of the family and it’s happening. The day of Rainie and Stuart’s wedding, Stuart get’s stuck in a dodgy hearse, Callum is no where to be seen so Ben fixed the situation himself by going to the town hall, he brings back a celebrant, Callum turns up and Ben is unhappy with him. He makes it obvious to Callum that he was really late and if Stuart wasn’t stuck he’d have missed it, Callum tells him he was caught up at work but Ben makes it known to Callum that he has blood on his sleeve, which he got for beating up Danny after he threatenes to kill Ben and proceeds to say that his “Police business” is starting to become “Mitchell Business”.

Following a car accident that Callum attended, Phil tells Ben that his little brother, Raymond Dawkins was involved in the accident and it had killed his adopted parents and sister. Ben later walks in on Callum and Phil talking, Callum tells him that Phil wants him to look into Raymond’s adopted family and Ben tells him he doesn’t want him to loose his job but Callum insists he has it under control. While they prepare for Lexi’s dance grading, Callum tells Ben that nothing has to change between them just because he is helping Phil out and that everything he is doing is for him, Ben then tells Callum that he didn’t think he would turn into a Mitchell. Ben later raises concern to Callum over Phil seeing Raymond, after Denny’s death Ben is scared of Phil getting hurt again. After Callum walks in on a conversation with Ben and Phil, Ben tells Callum that Phil wants to step up and bring Raymond home which Callum doesn’t think is a bad idea because that way he is preoccupied on Raymond and staying out of trouble but Ben worries that Phil is too focused on winning over Raymond’s grandmother, Ellie Nixon and becoming sloppy that Raymond’s biological mother, Denise Fox will find out what Phil is up to and will cause problems. Lola and Ben get into an argument after she finds out about Ben’s brother through Lexi eavesdropping on Ben and Callum’s conversation, he tells Lola to keep her mouth shut and to keep her nose out because it hasn’t got anything to do with her or Denice as she made her choice when she signed the adoption papers. Ben finds out Lola told Denice after she barges into the house telling Phil she knows everything and Ellie Nixon knows that Phil is Raymond's dad and she stopped Phil from seeing him in hospital. Ben tells Callum that they aren’t sure Ellie Dawkins, the name she was going by, wasn’t her actual name and she’s taken £5K from them and taken Raymond, he is beside himself because it’s “killing” his dad and he can’t do anything about it.

After doing some snooping at work, Callum tells Ben that Ellie Dawkins is actually Nixon and she is really bad news as well as her whole family, he proceeds to tell him that the car crash was a retaliation attack on her and she’s the reason his adopted family are dead. Ben tells Callum he can’t tell Phil because it won’t end well but Callum says he needs to know because she has Raymond and she’s very dangerous, Phil walks in and wants to know what it is he isn’t allowed to know, Callum tells Phil he has Ellie’s address and landline which he sends to Phil, Ben doesn’t like it and later follows Phil to the Arches to meet Ellie after attempting to stop him going alone and tries to persuade Phil not to give her £80K or any more until she give them Raymond. He takes in what Ben says and tells Ellie he isn’t giving her a penny. After Phil decides he wants full custody of Raymond, he needs Ellie to sign the agreement which they’ve already got from Denice and Phil says he needs Callum’s help to force her into signing, Ben become worried when Callum tells him and Phil that drugs were planted on her and the police are raiding four of her properties, he tells Callum he doesn’t have to do this and he needs to stop risking his job for his family, he tells him that he doesn’t want him helping his dad if it’s going to risk his career. Callum lies to Ben and tells him that Thompson is helping him because he found out he was having an affair, which Ben doesn’t believe, he asks Ben why he has a problem with it when his dad doesn’t, he responds telling him he is not going to see him get sent down for his dad. He later confronts his dad and tells him to leave Callum out of it, Ben watches on with Phil and Callum as Raymond comes home to Denice.

Ben is left dissapointed when Callum makes them a table full of breakfast but is called into work, later when Callum returns home, Ben goes to hang up Callum’s jacket when his phone falls out as he goes to pick it up he is tempted to look through it but doesn’t and puts it back in the jacket, Callum catches him putting his phone in the pocket and gets defensive when he assumes Ben is “checking up” on him, Ben points out that he’s been acting weird and he always rushes to his phone whenever it rings and questions if it’s because he doesn’t want Ben to see who it is, Callum tells Ben he needs to trust him which he says he does. Ben later assumes that Callum is acting weird because he feels guilty with everything he’s done, going against his job but Ben proceeds to tell him that his family never forget loyalty and he is really proud of him. Ben, Phil and Kat Slater discuss a plan for a raid at an insurance company in Shorditch, which Callum later tells Ben to be careful doing, Ben later gets into an argument with Ian and after winding him up Ian tells him to stop being his dad as he’ll never accept him because he hates him and Ben tells him his dad actually hates him and he isn’t the only one. Ben, Phil and Kat then recruit, Shirley and Kush Kazemi to help with the raid and while they hot wire the cars they struggle to get out as Kush misreads the exit code, the police are on their way to them after a tip off and Callum texts Ben to warn him that they are on their way. When they get the gate open Ben is the first one speeding out the building with Callum being the only police officer to see him, they all make it back to the Mitchell's except for Kush who took too long to escape and got caught. Ben questions how the police knew they were there as Shirley blames Callum, which Ben gets defensive over and Phil defends him by telling her he wouldn’t tell them and then send out a warning and that it must have been a silent alarm that Kush set off. Ben sees Callum with a frozen bag on his lip after he attempted to arrest Kush, he got punched after letting Kush go because he threatened to send Ben down with him and he wanted to make the escape look “convincing”, Ben told Callum he was grateful for letting him go because he could have told them anything. Ben found out that it wasn’t a silent alarm that nearly got them caught but an anonymous call and proceeded to tell Callum that a “grass” don’t say anonymous and he asks Callum if he can find out who made the call, which Callum declined.

Ben isn’t giving up and is determined to find out who made the call, he tells Callum someone is out to get them and wants to know who, Callum then tells Ben that he will try and help. Ben finds out from Phil that someone planted a listening device in the Arches, they all get into an argument in the street over who could have planted it, which they blame on Kush. After Ben’s obsession looking for both Kush and Kat who have done a runner, Callum has had enough and comes clean to Ben that it was Ian who made the call to the police which he found after looking for the call at work on the files. Ben starts an argument with Ian in the street and attempts to hit him however Callum stops him and the police turn up thinking they’re there for him but they arrest Ian instead, for mortgage fraud. Callum tells Ben to speak to Phil about it so he can deal with him and to stay out of it but Ben refuses.

After Ian gets attacked, the whole square is under investigation and Callum questions Ben and his motive after Stuart questions it to Callum. Ben is a bit disheartened when he asks him if he attacked Ian and Ben told him he didn’t. During a conversation with Peter, Ben blames him for Ian’s attack but Peter blames Ben right back and tells him that nobody knows where he was (no alibi). Ben sees Peter mouthing off at Kathy, which causes Ben to push him to the floor and telling Peter not to speak to her the way he did, later the police turn up outside The Car Lot and arrest a confused Ben for the attempted murder on Ian and tells Jay to call Ritchie when Ben is released due to no evidence he goes to Ian because he was the one who grassed him to the police and Ian tells him he saw Ben in The Vic the night he was attacked to which Ben said his mind is playing tricks before telling him that he’s dead to him. Callum apologises to Ben for doubting him and tells him that he owes him to which Ben agrees. In The Minute Mart, Ben finds out that Suki Panesar saw someone walking out of The Vic at the time Ian was attacked on her CCTV and threatens to take it to the police and asks Ben for £10K, Ben later demands to see the footage and gives her the money, Suki then tells Ben that the price has gone up and asks for £100K or the CCTV footage will be going to his “boyfriend’s boss”. Ben begins to panic and tells Phil what happened and Kathy questions why he needs an alibi if he didn’t do it he then swears on Lexi’s life he didn’t attack Ian. He later tells Callum about the CCTV and Callum asks why he lied to him. Ben goes to see Suki and Kheerat Panesar and threatens them with contacts on the inside and gives them pictures of Jags Panesar, who is in prison. Ben meets with Kheerat and tells him there isn’t enough space in the square for both of their families, he then give the CCTV over to Ben and deletes any spare copy in exchange for his brother’s safety and tells Ben he isn’t like his mum.

Kathy tells Ben and Peter that there was a shooting at The Vic and Ian is shaken and wants the whole family for christmas, they were then told that it was fireworks that were set off in the barrel stall and not a shooting. Later, Ben Quizzes Ian over the fireworks with Peter and Bobby and Ben finds a lighter that fall out of Ian’s pocket and quickly realises that he set them off himself in an attempt to get protection. The police turn up outside The Vic where Ben and the rest of his family are celebrating christmas, Ian assumes the police are there for Ben and accuses him of sending him bullets, the police weren’t there for Ben. After Lexi questions why her Uncle wanted the police to take her Dad away he goes to aggrivate Ian, he tells him that unlike Ian he doesn’t want to be the father where his children hate him and wants to do a better job with Lexi and warns him to watch what he says around her and admits to Ian he was there the night he was attacked and left him to die, he threated him with a bat until he saw Phil coming in the back door. Phil saw Ben going in and followed him, he tells Phil that he wasn’t going to hurt him because Ian is his brother and he’ll always love him.

When Stuart gets arrested, Ben tells Callum that he’ll get Ritchie to sort it and says that because he’s Callum’s brother he’ll protect him the same way he protects Callum. Ben notices that something is off with Callum and asks Callum whats going on with him, he tells him that it’s him he’s talking to and can tell him anything but he insists he has to got to work. Later, Callum goes to speak to Ben and Phil with Jack Branning and Ben is shocked to hear that Callum made an offer with D.I Thompson to keep Ben out of prison if he helps put Phil away and Callum insisted that as soon as it happened he went straight to Jack and have been figuring out how to play him. He later told Ben that he should have told him but he was scared of what he’d do if he knew and he would do anything to protect Ben. He then told Jay that he wants to marry Callum. Ben sees Frankie at Ruby’s and is worried about her excessive drinking, when Callum turns up they get homophobic abuse by some punters after they kiss and Frankie defends them, she asks if they have a problem with her mates and he mimicks her speech due to her deafness and she beats him up. Ben and Callum interven and pulls her off him, Ben tell her that she could have killed him and Callum apologises to Frankie before arresting her. Ben meets Callum in The Prince Albert where he sees Frankie, Callum tells him she’s been drinking all day and to keep and eye on her, he tries to het through to her but can’t. Frankie stays at the Mitchells after getting arrested again, Ben sees her crying and he tried to get her to talk to him, she asks if Callum’s brother was in care with Mick Carter because she wants somebody to tell the the truth, upon questioning her about it he tells her that she doesn’t have to tell him but he wants to know what he can do to make it right, but she says that he can’t. He tells her that whatever issues she has to sort them out before she goes to Australia because there won’t be an “Aussie” Ben and Callum to look out for her and that just because she’s moving across the world she’s still his mate.

When Ben and Jay are talking over drinks, Jay tells Ben that Callum seems to be great with Lexi, after Ben tells him that Callum and Lexi are sorting out balloons and organising Phil’s birthday. He responds to him and says that he’s actually amazing with her, Jay then questions if he’s still wanting to propose to which Ben shrugged off with a maybe and Jay tells him he should as nobody else will be stupid enough to marry him. Ben gets a call from Lexi’s school as she’s fallen ill and needs picking up, Ben can’t do it because he’s busy so he asks Callum to pick her up. Ben finds out that he isn’t allowed as he isn’t on the approved list so he asks Lola to ring the school but refuses, she tells Ben that he isn’t family and that “as good as” family isn’t enough, she continues to say that it isn’t her fault they haven’t “tied the knot” and only close family she can trust and count on can do it. Later, Ben and Callum are talking and Callum seems to understand as it’s to keep her safe, Ben seems confused because Callum lives with them to which Callum tells him it’s not the same because he isn’t ‘actually’ family. He then tell Callum that he can sort it if they go down to the registry office and sign the papers to make it official and then he won’t have to worry about the list, Callum is slightly shocked and confused and asks Ben if he is asking if they should get married to which Ben said that it makes sense to, Callum is a little upset and disappointed that Ben asked him like that and walks out when Ben doesn’t realise what he did. After, he finds Callum and asks him if he has it wrong and doesn’t want to get married, he tells Ben that he does want to but not to just have his name on a list, he then tells Callum he didn’t ask him because of that and he’s bad at wearing his heart on his sleeve before telling him that he’ll get him all the roses money can buy. Callum tells him that he wants to go into his next marriage for all the right reasons. Ben tells Lola and Lexi that he proposed to Callum and insisted it wasn’t to get him on the list as he was thinking about it anyway, Lola is shocked to learn that he proposed to him in the kitchen to which Lexi tells him that someone needs to teach him about romance. Lexi creates a chart with a planned proposal on it, which Callum accidently sees but Ben throws him off the scent by telling him it’s Lexi’s school project and starts speaking negitively about the idea of marriage. While they set up for the proposal, Ben is nervous and worries about the timing, he gets a call from Callum and meets him in the square, Ben realises that Callum is proposing to him but tries to act oblivious and rush him along. Callum then arrives and walks in on the suprise proposal but Ben isn’t there, he then rings Ben and apologises telling him he wanted everything to be perfect. Ben shouts him from the balcony of The Prince Albert with a large bouquette of roses. Ben and Callum stand on the balcony with the roses, Ben tells Callum that there is no other man he would stand on a freezing balcony for and that he knows he has stuck so lucky, Callum then tells him that for his whole life he never felt like he was enough, but with Ben he feels like they can take on the world and he knows he isn’t perfect. Lexi then shouts up and tells Callum that there is no one else she would rather have as her other dad before Ben and Callum propose at the same time to which they both say yes. After they kiss with their family watching they watch the fireworks while holding hands and Ben’s head on Callum’s shoulder.

When Ben finds out Phil and Sharon are spending time together, he becomes unhappy over the thought they might get back together. When Kat over hears Ben and Phil talking about her behind her back, she tells Stas Saunders that the Mitchell‘s call him “Shell Suit Stan” without his knowledge, this causes him call off the deal they had as he felt ‘disrespected’ reminding Ben the tracksuit cost him two grand. Ben tries to figure out who told Stas, while being reminded by Callum that it’s a running joke within the family and probably should look close to home, when Ben overhears that the deal with Stas and Kheerat is back on he is angered over his gloating and accuses Sharon of messing with his business as he believes it was her who grassed to Stas when he noticed how close she looked with Kheerat. Ben warns Kheerat off Stas twice, warning him that Stas is a ‘loose cannon’ Kheerat later offers Ben to be his business partner, they meet Stas in the Archers and while talking business Stas becomes personal with Ben, telling Ben that he’s going bald as he takes after his father but doesn’t say it behind his back as well as telling Ben that he doesn’t judge his lifestyles and proceeds to tell Ben that sleeping with a man is one thing but a policeman is another, which starts angering Ben. Stas forces a confession out of Ben using a gun and Ben admits that him and Phil have called him ‘mad’ in the past. He then threatens to shoot a gas suppressor once the music he plays stops playing if he doesn’t get his money back due to not trusting neither Ben nor Kheerat. Kheerat calls his brother, Vinny who has the bag of money but gets cornered by a group of muggers he manages to escape and he askes Callum for help and he arrives with the money. Ben later tells Kheerat that he was wrong about him, Vinny tells them that he asked Callum for help and he’s the reason he made it, Kheerat is angered at Vinny for asking a copper for help while he was carrying 50k of dirty money. When Ben sees Stas, he asks him who it was who told him, he tells Ben the truth.

The next day, Ben is in a mood after not being able to sleep and he tells Callum that it was Kat and not Sharon who stirred it with Stas and he’s going to leave it to Phil to sort out. Phil finds out about Ben’s partnership with Kheerat and the deal with Stas being back on at the same time Ben tells him about Kat, Phil tells Ben he isn’t going to do anything and no harm was done, he is forced to tell Ben that he’s been seeing Kat and after realising he wasn’t joking he is shocked telling Phil he’s ‘scraping the bottom of the barrel’ and Phil told Ben she heard what they said about her which is why she went to Stas. Ben later told Phil, after taking a swipe at him and Kat, that it’s his life and he can do what he wants as it must be lonely at his age but would be good for him to try dating apps to find someone more suited. In the Cafe, Kathy tells Ben that Gavin has died and is thinking of going to his memorial service, Ben thinks Gavin dying is good news and isn’t happy she’s going to the service, she reminds Ben that they were together for a long time to which Ben reminds her that because of that they weren’t. Ben and Callum have a conversation about their guest list for their wedding, Callum wants to invite his father to which Ben tells Callum about Gavin, he tells him that even though he was an awful man and was a ‘monster’ he sometimes did something unexpected like taking Ben on fishing trips, Ben told Callum that life is complicated and if he wanted to invite his father then he’s fine with it before telling Callum that their must of been sometimes in his life that he was okay, to which Callum said their wasn’t and crossed off his name. Ben helps out Kheerat when someone spray paints racist graffiti on his family’s shop and they track down the racist. After getting a call from Callum, Ben praises Vinny after a guy who works for Stas dies from a heart attack and a bag of gold is left in the boot of the car and gets Callum to help shift it, when Ben tells Vinny that the guy before he died took some of the gold before it was handed back to Stas and they are relieved as they are in the clear. Ben is angered and confronts Sharon after knowing that Phil is still helping her out, he doesn’t want his dad to become a mug. She proceeds to tell Ben that he’s just a ‘pound shop Phil Mitchell’ and no one would take him seriously if it weren’t for the surname. Ben goes to Kush’s court case over the car theft where he finds out that Kush double crossed them and decided to co-operate as a witness against the others who were there instead of taking the blame, he then tells the court the names of everyone involved, including Ben who was mentioned as one of the three who organised it, but didn’t mention Kat. Knowing he has just grassed the Mitchell's to the police he tells Whitney, his fiancèe that they have to go on the run. Ben and Phil were released pending investigation after Kush was killed by Gray Atkins, who was the Mitchell lawyer at the time, over Whitney. Gray tells Ben that without any evidence to back Kush’s statement they are in the clear. Ben makes a promise to Callum after he was upset over their wedding venue going ‘bust’ that by the end of the year he’ll be his husband, he later tells Callum he has booked a registry office after a cancellation but the wedding is booked for two weeks but he has however managed to book The Prince Albert for their reception venue. Ben tries to surprise Callum before their wedding by arranging to bring his grandmother, Violet Highway to the square but has a rude introduction with her when she mistakes him for a waiter and asks Stuart in front of Ben where Whitney is then proceeds to ask Ben if he’s the ‘fella’ that Callum has been ‘skinny dipping in the other end of the pool with’ and tells Ben that she’ll call him Whitney because anything else is confusing. When Ben excitedly tries to surprise him he his taken back when Callum asks him if he killed Kush and is deeply hurt that he has accused him of murder and asks Callum what the point of getting married is if he doesn’t trust him. Ben tells Callum that he wouldn’t marry him if he was keeping something like that a secret as the guilt would be too much and he has changed since having Callum in his life however Ben finds out that Callum lied to him when he confesses to Ben about his undercover police work against Phil.

Lewis attacks Ben

Ben is raped by Lewis Butler.

In May 2022 Ben gets raped by Lewis Butler after an argument with Callum. Ben tells Kathy he was raped by Lewis, Ben then gets more erratic and ends up punching Kathy by accident after an argument with Kathy's boyfriend Tom Cotton who Ben was trying to punch. He loses his temper with Lexi however things take a dark turn when he begins binging on alcohol and drugs and gets out of a taxi in a stupor and goes down an alley. Ben then sits down and vomits his phone rings it is Kathy wondering where he is, Ben answers the phone but drops it on the ground as he bends down to pick it up he suffers a heart attack and is rushed to hospital. Sharon visits Phil who feels guilty about not being more supportive during Ben's rape ordeal, however Sharon tells Phil that Ben has been buying drugs in the bar and Sam has been letting it happen.

Phil Mitchell and Ben Mitchell hug

Ben and Phil hug.

Ben forces Lewis to admit to raping him

Ben threatens Lewis with a gun.

As a result Phil disowns Sam so in order to get Sam with help from Zack kidnaps Lewis, tying him up and placing him in the boot of a car, Sam drives an unsuspecting Phil to a warehouse and reveals she has kidnapped Lewis and hands Phil his gun. Lewis manages to escape and takes Phil's gun and holds Phil and Sam at gun point but Phil manages to disarm Lewis and beats him to a pulp and prepares to shoot Lewis, but is interrupted by Ben, who was told by Zack that Sam and Phil had kidnapped Lewis, Ben tells him if anyone is going to shoot Lewis it will be him. Ben ultimately decides not to kill Lewis and tells Phil he is going to report Lewis raping him to the police, Phil tells Ben he is proud of him and the father and son hug.

Ben and Callum break up for good

Ben and Callum break up for good.

When reporting Lewis to the police Callum goes into the interview room and Ben tells Callum the truth about his rape ordeal. After the interview is over Callum begs Ben to get back together but Ben insist they are over for good, Callum then breaks down but Ben holds his hand.

Ben tries to recover from his ordeal alone, but Callum refuses to give up support despite being separated, after Lexi asks Callum for help on her school project they accidentally hold hands after messing around and joking with each other making it known there’s still feelings between the pair while Ben insists it’s over. Lola can see that they still love each other so decides to set them up which leads them to admit they still have feelings for one another, Ben allows Callum to listen when his SOIT officer tells him Lewis was arrested but was put on bail pending investigation, upsetting him. Callum later tells Ben that he is proud of him, they slowly start to become closer again even helping out with Jay’s 28th birthday surprise together. Ben later gets told that the charges against Lewis have been dropped due to a lack of evidence which sets him back, slightly and causes him to be snappy with both Lola and Callum who are both reminding him about Lexi’s pageant. At the pageant, Ben calls an ambulance after Lola suffers a seizure and takes Lexi for pizza and ice cream to take her mind off her mum in hospital, he’s then convinced by Lexi and Kathy to go for a pint and a chat with Callum, where he tells him the news about Lewis.

Callum tried his best to help Ben support Lexi while Lola is still in hospital and after being reminded by Jay that life is too short following Lola’s brain tumour diagnosis, he runs to Callum’s flat and tells him that he’s been stupid and stubborn and has said things he never meant before admitting he still loved him, Callum tells Ben that he never stopped before they kiss and hold each other. They try there best to keep Lexi happy and supported as they go trick or treating and take Lexi to the hospital to celebrate Halloween with Lola, while taking it in turns to look after Lexi. After being told Lola’s brain tumour is incurable, Callum suggests Ben moves in so it’s easier for him to support him and Lexi whilst Ben, who’s in denial, tries to find treatment and when he does find somewhere in America, he tells Jay and Lola that he’ll sell the Arches for money so she can get her treatment, he tells Lola that he would do anything for her no questions which includes selling his livelihood and family business for her.

Episode 6669 (27 March 2023)

Ben boxing.

When Sharon, Kat and Phil re-launch Crunch Time and rename it The Boxing Den in tribute of Dennis Jr, the gym has several amateur boxing matches. However one of the boxers is ill and starts throwing up and has to pull out of the fight, Ben in attendance with Callum offers to step in to impress Phil. Ben boxes with a man named Troy makes a bright start but then loses the boxing match quickly after, Ben is punched twice and falls onto the ropes and notices a horrified Lexi is watching. Lexi then runs out the gym and Ben follows her. Ben later blames Honey for bringing Lexi to the gym. Ben later sees Troy in the cafe and Troy says he sees potential in Ben, Troy asks Ben to be his sparing partner and Ben accepts the offer. Ben later trains with Troy after Callum is called into work.

On 24 April 2023 Ben is notified by police that Lewis has been arrested for the rape of another man, Ben later has a boxing match with Martin and punches Martin after the bell had already rang. Ben and Martin argue in the Vic after Ben had cheated during their boxing match. Zack gets involved in the argument and gets called a coward by Ben for not boxing him, after Ben hurls multiple insults at Zack a furious Zack reveals in front of the whole Vic that he didn't fight Ben because he is HIV positive. Ben attempts to shake Zack's hand but Zack refuses, things get even worse for Ben when Lola tells him that Jay is going to adopt Lexi. Ben gets angry and refuses, Ben then contacts Ritchie and she tells him that they can't do the adoption with out his permission. Ben believes Lola doesn't think he is up to raising Lexi on his own, however after conversations with Phil, Kathy and even Jay himself Ben realises that when lola dies him and Jay will have to look after Lexi together. Ben then goes to see Lola and Jay and tells them he won't stand in their way.

Over the next couple of weeks Ben can be seen not eating much food as continues to struggle to cope with his rape and Lola's brain tumor. At the Prince Albert during a euro vision party Ben gets drunk and picks a fight with Vinny, during an argument. Ben pins Vinny against a wall but it is witnessed by a horrified Lola. Lola goes home and while she's asleep with Jay, Ben kicks their door of the hinges, Ben tries to see Lexi but Lola breaks down in tears and tells Ben she can't pick up the peaces after Ben forever as she's not going to be here. The next day Ben is told by Callum, Jay and Phil that he is out of order for his actions the previous night. Ben regrets his actions and apologises to Lola. Lola later collapses at her leaving party at the Salon, she is taken to hospital by Ben, Jay, Billy, Honey and Lexi and they are all shocked when the doctor tells them that Lola only has weeks left to live. Ben refuses to accept this diagnosis and during an argument with Jay he accuses them all of giving up, Ben later tells Lexi that Lola has got weeks left to live and that everyone has given up but he is going to make sure he finds a way to make her live longer. Jay overhears this conversation and is furious with Ben.

Ben discovers Lola has passed away

Ben discovers Lola has passed away.

Ben hears that Lola is getting baptised, Ben storms over to Lola's house and accuses Lola of giving up, he tells Lola that she has to survive until Lexi's first day of school. Jay later goes to the Arches and calls Ben selfish and Ben then discovers that Jay and Billy were going to help Lola take her own life if the pain got too much, leading the two to almost come to blows. Phil later goes to the Arches and tells Ben that he regrets not helping his mother Peggy end her life when her cancer was killing her. Ben then goes to see Lola and apologises for his actions earlier, however when Ben leaves the house he phones a doctor Washington and asks for surgeries to save Lola life, proving he still hasn't taken his family's advice on board. Ben waits for a call back and proceeds to have a go at Kim, Denise, Tom, Whitney, Billy and Honey for buying bottles of prosseco, accusing them of planning to get bladdered infront of Lola, Ben later turns up at Lola's house and kicks off again, before apologising again. Ben then tells Callum he's going to America to sort out treatment for Lola.

When Ben returns to Walford he is told by his family that Lola has died and Ben breaks down in tears, Ben later tells Callum and Jay that they could of saved Lola if they took her to America sooner. Ben later attempts to console Lexi but Lexi is angry at Ben for not being around and storms off. George Knight later sees Ben in the cafe and discovers Ben's ex Lola had died the previous night. George then sees Ben's daughter Lexi and tells her that she is lucky to have a father that loves her, Lexi then forgive Ben and they hug. On 5 June 2023 Ben sells the Arches to Sharon to clear his debts after his financial trouble, Sharon later tells a furious Phil that she has brought the Arches for Keanu.

Ben takes Lexi out for dinner at Walford East for dinner, during the meal Ben begins to feel sick. He attempts be sick but the toilet is out of order, Ben tells Lexi to wait at their table for two minutes. However, while Ben is gone throwing up Lexi wonders off and is found by Billy who angrily berates Ben for leaving Lexi so soon after Lola's death. On 27 June 2023 Ben attends Lola's funeral.

On 7 August 2023 Jay and Ben are due to appear in court for a parental hearing for Lexi, Ben goes to the Boxing Den and tries to avoid going to court but is convinced by George to go. Ben then goes to court, at the Vic Ben makes a speech about his and Jay's years of friendship, calling Jay his brother and saying Lola would be very proud. However when Phil buys Ben some food he runs back to the house, Honey follows him and tells him she knows he's got an eating disorder, claiming she has seen the signs such as him having blisters around his body and that she's seen him run away from food multiple times. Ben furiously denies he has an eating disorder and locks himself in the bathroom, Honey tells him that if he doesn't want to talk anyone that he should talk to her. Honey then leaves the house and Ben breaks down in tears.

The next day Callum asks Honey what was said between her and Ben, Ben assumes that Honey is telling Callum about his eating disorder and begins shouting at Honey. Lexi later orders Ben to apologise to Honey and he does, Honey encourages Ben to tell Callum about his eating disorder. Ben and Callum talk and they talk about the stuff that's happened to Ben over the last year such as Lola dying, before Ben can tell Callum about his eating disorder he is left furious when Callum thinks he's upset about what Lewis did to him. Ben then refuses to talk to Callum and tells him to leave. Ben goes to the Boxing Den and trains, Kat spots Ben and convinces Ben to talk to Callum. Ben then tells Callum about his eating disorder and Callum supports him. Ben later sees Peter in the Vic and squares up to him but is ordered to leave by George.

11 September 2023. Lola's mother Emma Harding returns after previously abandoning Lola before she passed away and reveals to Ben that Lexi has been texting her, Emma attempts to warn Ben as she's concerned about Lexi but Ben doesn't want to hear it still angry at Emma for abandoning Lola and orders her to leave. Callum later meets Emma and hears her out, Emma explains that Lexi is being bullied and that she is concerned for Lexi. Ben then sees them talking and once again ignores Emma and orders her to leave.

When Jay begin seeing prostitute Nadine Keller and going missing Ben questions where Jay keeps going causing Jay to tell Ben to get off his case. Jay later begin taking drugs and when Callum finds out he reports Jay to the police, Callum agrees to keep quite about Jay's drugs and arrest. Ben later finds out about the drugs and Jay's arrest and confronts Callum and Jay who both lie and tell Ben that Jay was only arrested for possession of weed, however Ben later finds out from Gina Knight that Jay has been taking the drug ketamin. Ben and Jay later have a furious argument in the Vic that Ben tell Jay that he can't see Lexi anymore. Ben, along with Billy and Callum are informed by the police that Jay has been in a car crash. Jay later wakes up and when asked to provide breathalyser Kim and Ben encouraged Jay to refuse so he doesn't get sentenced for dangerous driving, Jay refuses to give them a breathalyser. On 10 January 2024 Phil is informed from a phone call that Sal has died, Phil then tells the rest of the Mitchell family. On 15 January 2024 Ben attends Sal's funeral after being persuaded by Sam to go, Ben was initially hesitant to go because of Sal's previous homophobic remarks.Sam then reveals to Kat and the rest of the customers in the Vic that Phil slept with Emma. Sam leaves Walford after Phil, the Mitchell's and some Walford residents turn on her, however she has a touching farewell with Ricky before departing, Ben is furious that Phil slept with Lola's mother, Phil initially tells Ben that it's none of his or anyone else's business but later apologises to Ben.

Kill count

Murders/manslaughter victims

  1. Heather Trott (19 March 2012) - Lashed out in a fit of anger and hit her over the head with a photo frame with a picture of Shirley Carter and herself, Resulting in her death from a head injury.

Connected murders and deaths

  1. Jags Panesar (24 June 2021) (indirectly caused) - Called off his protection in prison after discovering his brother Kheerat Panesar was having a fling with Sharon Watts.

Attempted murder victims

  1. Jordan Johnson (21 May 2010) - Bludgeoned him with a spanner after Jordan bullied Ben for months.
  2. Glenda Mitchell (16 December 2010) - Pushed her down the stairs after she ruined his home coming party.
  3. Phil Mitchell (29 March 2016) - Attempted to smother Phil after he allegedly killed his baby which turned out to be fake.
  4. Simon Atmore (28 July 2016) - Begged his Dad Phil to buy him a gun so he could kill Simon and Frankie as revenge for killing Ben's boyfriend Paul in a homophobic attack.
  5. Frankie Byrne (28 July 2016) - Begged his Dad Phil to buy him a gun so he could kill Simon and Frankie as revenge for killing Ben's boyfriend Paul in a homophobic attack.
  6. James Willmott-Brown (16 November 2017) - After learning that James raped his mother Kathy, Ben prepares to attack James with a hammer but is stopped by Luke Browning.
  7. Danny Hardcastle (25 April 2019) - Tries to attack Danny with a glass but is stopped by Keanu Taylor.
  8. Billy Mitchell (23 May 2019) (by proxy) - Hired a hitman to kill him but later called it off.
  9. Phil Mitchell (6 August 2019) - Tries to tamper with unconscious Phil's oxygen tubes but is stopped by Jay Brown.
  10. Keanu Taylor (25 December 2019) (by proxy/ on the orders of Phil Mitchell) - Ordered Martin Fowler to kill Keanu, Martin managed to kidnap Keanu with help from Louise Mitchell (Who was also in on the attempted murder) Martin let's Keanu go as he is not capable of murder.
  11. Simon Atmore (20 July 2021) - Arranges to meet Simon to kill him as revenge for murdering his late boyfriend Paul Coker but is talked out of it by Callum and Phil.
  12. Unknown person (unknown date, revealed 13 April 2022) - Ben put three people in hospital around January to April 2022, these people were homophobic and Ben believed he was protecting his community.
  13. Unknown person (unknown date, revealed 13 April 2022) - Ben put three people in hospital from around January to April 2022, these people were homophobic and Ben believed he was protecting his community.
  14. Unknown person (unknown date, revealed on 13 April 2022) - Ben put three people in hospital from around January to April 2022, these people were homophobic and Ben believed he was protecting his community.
  15. Steve Masters (13 April 2022) - Follows Steve into an ally way and beats him almost to death with a copper pipe, as revenge for homophobic comments Steve made to Lewis Butler, but was interrupted by Sharon Watts.
  16. Rich (10 May 2022) - Beaten unconscious who he thought was Rich with a steel pipe, as revenge for homophobic slurs from Rich, however Ben realises after the attack that he has attacked Peter Beale not Rich.
  17. Lewis Butler (14 June 2022) (implied) - Attempted to track Lewis down armed with a crowbar wanting revenge on Lewis after he raped Ben the previous month, dialogue from Ben implied he intended to kill Lewis.

Employment history

Occupation Years Active
Student 2007-2011
Mechanic at Mitchell's Autos 2010, 2011-2012, 2014-2018, 2019-2023
Owner of Mitchell's Autos 2017-2023
Career criminal/Gangster 2018 to present
Drug dealer 2022
Co manager at Peggy's (wine bar) 2022
Car dealer at Square Dealz 2023 to present

Residence

Address Years
5 Albert Square 1996-1998
South Africa 1999-2006
55 Victoria Road 2006, 2010-2012, 2014-2017, 2019-2021
46 Albert Square 2007-2010
Unnamed Detention Centre 2010-2011
Prison 2012-2014
Calais, France 2018-2019
45 Albert Square 2019-2020, 2022
53A Turpin Road 2021-2022
29B Albert Square 2022 to present

Crimes

  • Murder
  • Attempted mass murder
  • Association to murder
  • Robbery
  • Assault
  • Human trafficking
  • GBH and ABH
  • Connection to gangland activities
  • Money laundering
  • Incitement to violence
  • Torture
  • Possession with intent
  • Kidnapping
  • Perverting the course of justice
  • Blackmail
  • Vandalism/affray

Background information

Quotes

  • To Phil Mitchell (doing time for killing Heather Trott; last line when leaving in 2012): "Bye Dad!" (24 August 2012)
  • To Phil Mitchell (when returning from France; first line): "Hello Dad!" (1 April 2019)

See also

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