Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) has been silently struggling with an eating disorder for several months now, but tonight’s (August 9) powerful EastEnders episode saw him finally reach out to his loved ones for support.
After finding him taking out his emotions on a punchbag at Boxing Den following an intense row with husband Callum Highway (Tony Clay), Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace) sat Ben down for a heart to heart.
As Ben revealed that Callum believed Ben was still struggling after being raped by Lewis Butler, Kat admitted that she had also struggled for a long time after being raped by her uncle.
She tried to get through to him by pointing out that suffering in silence could end up tearing him and Callum apart, and that he needed to seek help of some kind.
After suggesting that he get counselling, she offered to accompany him to a support group, making it clear that he didn’t have to talk if he didn’t want to, as sitting and listening to other people may be enough to help.
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Having heard Kat’s advice, Ben headed home to Callum, who had received some advice of his own.
While sat alone in the Queen Vic, Callum had been approached by Yolande Trueman (Angela Wynter), who told him that if he was putting his heart on the line then he had to be sure it was worth it.
As Callum relayed this to Ben, he admitted that he felt like he was putting his heart on the line every day at the moment, and expressed his disgust at being compared to rapist Lewis.
Ben apologised and assured him that he hadn’t meant it, before explaining what was really going on.
In emotional scenes, Ben opened up about his bulimia, explaining how it started after he was raped and got worse as Lola was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
He explained how these traumatic events had left him feeling out of control, and his eating disorder made him feel as though he was regaining some of that control.
He revealed to an emotional Callum that he was desperate to get better, but wasn’t sure that he could.
He explained that he had been brought up believing that it was a sign of weakness to talk about you feelings, but revealed that he knew that that was wrong.
As Ben announced that he planned on taking Kat’s advice and book an appointment to see a counsellor, as well as attending a support group with her, Callum was proud.
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