ENDER BEN EastEnders’ Ben Mitchell’s explosive Walford exit revealed as Max Bowden is axed from soap

THE son of Phil Mitchell’s exit comes quickly and brutally

EASTENDERS actor Max Bowden will be led out of Albert Square in handcuffs – after his character Ben Mitchell is sent to prison in America.

As The Sun revealed at the end of last year, bosses decided not to renew his contract.

Max, 29, returned from the Christmas break in January for six weeks and filmed his final scenes last month after scriptwriters came up with a last-minute exit storyline.

And despite leaving the door open for the iconic character, who has been played by six different actors, there was no leaving party or fuss made about it being Max’s last day on set.

A source said: “It was only decided that Max would leave just before Christmas so bosses had to come up with a plausible exit without killing him off..

“It’s all linked to Lola’s tragic death. They had to come up with something that would see him leave for a good while but with the possibility of bringing him back at some point in the future.

“Whether that will be Max or a new actor in the role depends on future storylines, and what he does next.

“His last day on set was just like any other day. There wasn’t any fuss made and he didn’t have a big leaving do despite having been there for the last five years.

“Everyone was happy with the way his exit plays out given the circumstances.”

Max’s exit as Ben Mitchell, the son of Phil Mitchell and ex-wife Kathy Beale, is expected to air after Easter.

Last year viewers saw Ben take a last-minute flight to America in a bid to get tragic Lola Pearce-Brown, played by Danielle Harold, life saving cancer treatment.

He’d promised their young daughter Lexi that he would do everything to save her mum who was dying from a brain tumour.

In heartbreaking scenes Lola died while he was away, with Ben returning to discover news of her death the following day.

The source added: “Max made that last minute dash to America in a bid to save Lola. Something went down while he was out there.

“His exit is all quite sudden, he doesn’t see it coming.

“The police turn in Albert Square to arrest him and he’s led away in handcuffs. He’s ripped away from his life and of course those that are left have to pick up the pieces.”

Since filming his final scenes Max has been working with his EastEnders co-star Jacqueline Jossa running a workshop at her drama academy in Bexleyheath, South East London.

A BBC spokeswoman said: “We do not comment on speculation.”

Actor Max Bowden will soon depart our screens as Ben Mitchell.

• Lewis Knight

Ben Mitchell is set for a major storyline ahead of the character’s exit in EastEnders.

Fans of the BBC One soap will be well aware that the popular character is being written out of the show this Spring but so far the show has been tight-lipped about the circumstances of the character’s exit.

Now, it seems, we have our first hint of what comes next for Ben in his final story given that actor Max Bowden has already finished filming.

In the final week of March, the week begins with Ben “fixing one issue before another arises” on Monday 25th March 2024.

The episode on the following day sees “Ben finding himself in hot water” – what trouble has he found himself in this time?

On Wednesday, the story appears to involve Ben’s parents as Kathy Cotton (Gillian Taylforth) “grows suspicious” of ex-husband Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden).

Finally, as the week draws to a close on Thursday 28th March, Ben’s husband and police officer Callum Highway (Tony Clay) “uses his job to his advantage”.

Is Ben in some kind of legal trouble? Also, can either Callum or Phil help him?

Of course, fans of ‘Ballum’ will be hoping the love story of the soulmates will be preserved whatever happens, but with no announcement of Callum Highway leaving, it seems they will be ripped apart one way or another.

We’ll have to wait and see what goes down…