Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) has taken a huge step in his recovery in recent EastEnders scenes by opening up about his struggles and admitting that he needs help.
Ben has been living with an eating disorder for several months following a series of traumatic life events, including the death of Lola Pearce and being raped by Lewis Butler.
This week, he finally opened up to husband Callum Highway (Tony Clay) about his illness and explained how he felt that controlling his food gave him back some of the control he had lost over his life.
The heart-to-heart came after a conversation with Kat Slater (Jessie Wallace), who, having been raped herself, worried that Ben keeping his feelings to himself would end up destroying his relationship.
In a bid to help him, she offered to accompany him to a support group.
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In tonight’s (August 10) episode, Ben took Kat up on her offer and arranged an appointment for a referral.
However, once they were there, it became clear that Ben was finding things difficult as he almost walked out after the doctor’s first question.
Thankfully, Kat was on hand to help, and managed to get him to open up about how he was feeling, despite his insistence that he doesn’t talk about his emotions.
As Ben began to open up, he revealed that he knew he needed help.
When the doctor began explaining the different options available, Ben appeared overwhelmed.
Kat stepped in once more as the doctor suggested council, pointing out that Ben may feel more comfortable in a group setting.
The doctor put Ben’s fears that he would be the only man at the group to bed by revealing that they do same sex sessions, and, luckily, they had had a cancellation for the next week.
Following the appointment, Ben thanked Kat for coming with him, and she revealed how proud she was.
Later, Ben updated Callum and Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) on the situation, who were both over the moon for him.
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