Ben Mitchell

Ben Mitchell's got quite a bad temper with a scary past, don't mess with this boy and he is the son of Phil Mitchell and Kathy Beale. He has a older brother called Ian Beale on his mothers side and on his fathers side he has a teenage sister called Louise Mitchell and he also shares a daughter with Lola Pearce who is called Lexi.

Storylines
Ben was born in March 1996, to Phil Mitchell and Kathy Hills. He had meningitis as a baby, leaving him partly deaf in one ear. Kathy and Ben left Walford, boarding flight to Cape Town, South Africa. Ben returns after 8 years living in South Africa after Kathy has died in a car crash. In Walford, he settles in to live with his half-brother and Kathy's son from ex-husband, Pete, Ian Beale.

"Somebody help me" Eventually, he is reunited with his dad but has a dislike to his then-girlfriend, Stella, who starts to abuse Ben physically. Eventually, Phil and Stella are engaged. In July 2007, Phil and Stella's wedding day, Ben reveals all about Stella, making her commit suicide by jumping off a roof. His dad is later arrested for her suicide.

Ben begins to take up dancing and passes an exam for Phil's approval. In March 2010, his half-sister, Louise Mitchell, turns up on the Square. Louise steals Ben's diary, suggesting that he's gay. Ben, who wants revenge, burns Louise's hand and locks her inside the summerhouse. Phil finds out and worries if he's abusing her as Stella abused him. Ben comes clear that Jordan Johnson, is bullying him. Phil advises him to fight back but takes it too far, as he lands Jordan in hospital. Ben soon lands in trouble with the Crown Court, who accuse him of abuse and they send him to a 12-month sentence in juvenile detention.

"Happy Birthday Dad"
Ben anonymously sends Phil several items related to his past crimes,convincing him that he has a stalker. Phil's girlfriend, Shirley Carter (Linda Henry), discovers Ben's deceit,and is horrified when Phil is arrested for the murder of Kevin Wicks (Phil Daniels) due to evidence brought to light by Ben. Phil is released due to lack of supporting evidence, and Ben promises Shirley that his hate campaign will end. He is delighted when Shirley buys him and Jay an old car to repair and race in. DCI Marsden (Sophie Stanton) re-opens the investigation into Stella's death and interviews Ben. He initially claims not to remember anything, but after Phil humiliates him for stalling the car's engine, Ben claims that Phil forced Stella to jump on the threat of being pushed. Phil makes plans to flee the country before he can be arrested, but is stalled by Ben, who reveals himself as his father's stalker. The next day, Shirley is informed by Marsden that Phil has been charged with Stella's murder and will probably be sentenced to at least 20 years. When the rest of the Mitchell family discover Ben's involvement in his dad's arrest, they disown him and throw him out of the house. The next morning, homeless and lonely, Ben has breakfast with Derek Branning (Jamie Foreman), who gives him money to keep him going. Later, Ben goes to stay with Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt), his fiancée Mandy Salter (Nicola Stapleton) and daughter Lucy Beale (Hetti Bywater). While living with Ian, Shirley visits Ben and pleads with him to drop the charges against Phil, admitting that she regrets throwing him out and she still cares about him. Ben asks her to leave, which she does. Ian later discovers that Ben lied to DCI Marsden (Sophie Stanton) about Phil, but remains on Ben's side. When Ben visits Phil in prison, he tells his father that he will never forget what Phil has done and will dance on his grave after he dies.

Heather's Murder
Phil has just been from released from jail as Ben's story has fallen to pieces and Phil wants to take out his anger on his son for sending him there, however, when he get's into Heather's flat he finds out that Ben killed Heather Trott as he thought she was the one who told the police he was lying about his dad.

On Friday 17 August 2012, Ben admits to the DCI Marsden and DS Crisp that he killed Heather Trott. Phil tries to save the day and Marsden doesn't believe him. DS Crisp arrests Ben and questions him. Ben said that the object he killed Heather with was at home. The police investigate and couldn't find the object. DS Crisp goes to the house and Jay Mitchell along with Shirley Carter hides the frame. DS Crisp talks to Shirley and she points to the washing machine. He finds the frame.

Ben wants to give a message to Jay but couldn't pass it on. DS Crisp says the interview is over while he gives the lawyer "the look" and the lawyer gives Ben a piece of paper and a pen. Ben writes his message and the lawyer leaves the room and gives the note to Jay, which tells Jay to tell the truth and that he will always love him.

Jay tells the truth and the next day Ben is arrested for murder. He asks about Jay and finds out that he is being charged for not confessing about the murder. Phil tries to persuade Ben to change his statement, however Ben insists that going to prison is the right thing and that he needs to be punished. Ben refuses to have any contact with anyone until he is released, leaving Phil in tears as Ben is escorted away.

In 2014, Phil finds out from Richie that Ben has been released for over a month and the prison was glad to see the back of him. Jay has already seen Ben in the time that he's been out of prison.

Willmott-Brown Revenge
In November 2017, Ben finds out Luke Wilmott-Brown, his partner, is the son of James Wilmott-Brown, with James being his mother Kathy's rapist. They remain in the relationship.

Later that month, Ben finds a business card in Luke's wallet with the inked writing "Project Dagmar" inscripted. He realises "Dagmar" is the pub James raped his mother in, and confronts Luke. Luke flips, and chokes Ben.

In December 2017, Luke gifts Ben a car. Ben asks him to take it back, and Luke pays a visit to him at the Archers garage. After Ben insulted Luke, Luke pushed him over, prompting Ben to declare he is not scared of him and he begins to whack a wrench about. When he puts it down, however, Luke beats him unconscious.

Later, Ben is revealed to be alive, albeit in a hospital bed and threatening to kill Luke. The following episode, Ian tells Lauren Branning that Ben is being let out of hospital that day. Kathy is later seen walking Ben home from hospital. She moans about his pace and how he should have let her call a taxi.

2018
After discovering Ben stole the money from Phil's heist, she gets in touch with Ciara and tells her she knows everything. Melanie follows Ben to the ferry terminal, to his suspicion. He hides behind some posters in order to lose Melanie; it works. Ben can then be seen on a ferry leaving the country. He throws his phone overboard, to see Melanie standing behind him.

Character development
On the 2nd October 2017, it was announced that that Harry Reid (Ben Mitchell) had been axed from EastEnders. He will depart in the midst of an "explosive storyline" between Phil Mitchell, Mick Carter and new character Aidan Maguire. Fans were outraged at the news, even launching e-petitions to save Harry from the axe. His exit is expected to air in January/February 2018. An EastEnders spokesperson said "We can confirm that Harry will be leaving EastEnders. Harry has been a great addition to the cast and we wish him all the best for the future." This also signifies another loss to the Mitchell family, who have suffered huge losses in the past few years with the culling of Ronnie, Roxy, Peggy, Grant and Ben.

Video
'''On set with... Harry Reid'''  On Set With Harry Reid

