OHMYGOSSIP — EastEnders’ Ben Mitchell is to struggle with bulimia in a new storyline.
The BBC One soap have teamed up with charity Beat to work on the hard-hitting plot, which will see the mental health of Max Bowden’s character spiral, and he starts to restrict aspects of his lifestyle, specifically exercise and food.
Viewers will see Ben start to hide his eating disorder from his loved ones as he continues to suffer in silence by imposing heavier restrictions on his diet as well as bingeing and purging in secret.
Chris Clenshaw, EastEnders’ Executive Producer, praised Max for his “thoughtful” portrayal.
He said of the storyline: “It was vital for us to work alongside Beat to accurately present, and sensitively portray Ben’s bulimia storyline.
“Max’s [Bowden] performance has thoughtfully portrayed the isolating reality of an eating disorder with compassion and understanding as we explore how the traumatic events of Ben’s past have affected his mental health.”
Tom Quinn, Director of External Affairs at Beat, admitted the charity are hoping Ben’s story will help to raise awareness of the warning signs of bulimia.
He added: “One in four people with an eating disorder are men, but it’s rare to see storylines that show how men are affected by these serious mental illnesses.
“At Beat we welcome that ‘EastEnders’ has chosen to highlight this important issue and we’ve been pleased to review scripts, to help ensure bulimia is represented in a sensitive and accurate way.
“We hope that Ben’s story will help to raise awareness of the warning signs and encourage people to reach out for the support they need.”
In recent years, viewers have seen Ben face a series of catastrophic events which have significantly impacted his mental health.
Things are set to get worse for him as he attempts to stay strong for his family as the health of Lola Pearce-Brown (Danielle Harold) – the mother of Ben’s daughter Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown) – deteriorates due to her incurable brain tumour.
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