Kat gives Ben some much needed advice (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) has been going through a traumatic time in EastEnders, but Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) will son provide some unexpected support.
While still attempting to come to terms with the fact that Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) was dying, Ben received the shocking news that Lewis Butler had been charged with another rape.
Lewis had raped Ben a year before, but the charges against him were dropped due to a lack of evidence.
With all of these traumatic experiences weighing heavily on his mind, Ben developed bulimia, which has seen him restricting his food and exercising excessively.
‘I think there’s a level of isolation to Ben’s demeanour at the moment,’ actor Max Bowden explains.
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‘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.’
On a particularly difficult day in upcoming scenes, Kat is set to find Ben in a terrible state as he punches a bag in the Boxing Den.
She is shocked to see him so upset, but soon finds out exactly why.
Kat is shocked to see Ben in such a state (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
In a bid to support him, she offers some advice as a fellow rape survivor, warning Ben that he could potentially destroy himself and his loved ones if he doesn’t seek help.
‘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 step-mother-to-be,’ Max reveals.
‘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.
Kat encourages Ben to seek help – and accompanies him to an assessment (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
‘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.’
Viewers will know that Kat’s own rape ordeal was revealed when daughter Zoe Slater (Michelle Ryan) insisted that she wanted to go back to Spain with their uncle Harry.
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It was during a heated confrontation that Kat revealed she wasn’t Zoe’s sister, but her mother, after having been raped by Harry himself.
Having heard Kat’s perspective, Ben agrees to attend a support group, accompanied by her. As they head to an assessment, he begins to finally open up about his trauma.
Will Ben be able to get the help he needs?
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Can she get through to him?