Ben Mitchell (EastEnders)

:"For other uses, see Ben Mitchell."Infobox EastEnders character 2


caption=Charlie Jones as Ben Mitchell (2008).


caption2=Morgan Whittle as Ben Mitchell (1999).
character_name=Ben Mitchell
actor_name=Matthew Silver (1996-1998)
Morgan Whittle (1999-2000)
Charlie Jones (2006—)
years=1996–1998, 1999–2000, 2006—
first=21 March 1996
classification=Present; regular
dob=21 March 1996
status=Single
home=The Queen Vic
occupation=Student
father=Phil Mitchell
mother=Kathy Mitchell
halfsisters=Donna Ludlow
Louise Mitchell
halfbrothers=Ian Beale
grandfathers=Eric Mitchell
Dennis Hills
grandmothers=Peggy Mitchell
Brenda Hills
great grandfathers=Phil Mitchell
Jack Martin
great grandmothers=Sandra Mitchell
Lilly Martin
great great grandfathers=Edward Mitchell
great great grandmothers=Betty Mitchell
uncles=Grant Mitchell
Ted Hills
Colin Hills
Jonathan Hills
aunts=Sam Mitchell
Stephanie Hills
great uncles=Clive Mitchell
Archie Mitchell
great aunts=Sal Martin
great great uncles=Kenneth Mitchell
nephews=Peter Beale
Bobby Beale
nieces=Lucy Beale
cousins=Courtney Mitchell
Mark Fowler Jr.
Tony Hills
Sarah Hills
1st cousin once=Ronnie Mitchell
Roxy Slater
1st cousin twice=Steven Mitchell
Ted Mitchell
2nd cousin=Danielle Jones
2nd cousin once=Billy Mitchell
Charlie Mitchell
3rd cousin=Jamie Mitchell
Janet Mitchell
William Mitchell

Benjamin "Ben" Mitchell is a fictional character in the popular BBC soap opera "EastEnders". The role has been played by three different people: Matthew Silver as a baby, Morgan Whittle as a toddler, and, since 6 March 2006, Charlie Jones.

torylines

The son of Phil and Kathy Mitchell, Ben was born in 1996 and had meningitis as a baby, leaving him partially deaf in one ear. His parents separated and Ben left Albert Square with his mother to live in South Africa in 1998, returning briefly in 1999 to attend the wedding of his half brother Ian Beale to Melanie Healy. Phil agonised over the fact that he could not be a full-time father to his son.

When Kathy and her husband Gavin were killed in a car crash in March 2006, Ian brought Ben back to Walford. Ian was against Ben spending time with Phil, who had seen little of Ben since his emigration to South Africa. Many fights between Phil and Ian ensued, with Ben caught in the middle. Though initially frightened of Phil, Ben started to bond with his father and, despite objections from Ian, Ben eventually opted to live with Phil.

Ben grew close to his father and did not want to share his affections, so he instantly resented Phil dating Stella Crawford. With encouragement from his friend Abi Branning, Ben played various vengeful pranks on Stella and refused to accept her acts of friendship. In a bid to get closer to Ben, Stella took him to the London Dungeon, promising him that she was not trying to replace his mother, but Ben got lost in the house of mirrors, and Stella hid and watched Ben's panic and confusion as he called for her. From then on, Stella began using underhand tactics to make Ben more obedient. Unbeknown to Phil, she began to psychologically and physically abuse Ben, doing such things as splitting him and Abi up, burning his hand, pinching him, pouring orange juice over his bed to make him look like he wet himself, locking him in a garage over night, watching him get attacked by bullies, telling him Phil did not love him, and breaking his hearing aid. Ben attempted to alert Ian to Stella's nastiness, falsely claiming that bruises on his back were Stella's handywork, but after witnessing the resulting commotion, Ben admitted to Phil that the bruises were actually caused by bullies. Phil was angered by Ben's dishonesty, and Stella used this to her advantage, convincing Ben that Phil was ashamed to call him his son and forcing him to rely on her more and more as his only ally. Stella manipulated Ben into persuading Phil to propose to her, which Phil did to provide Ben with a stable family unit.

On Stella and Phil's wedding day, Ben stood up to Stella, revealing that he hated her and did not want her to marry his father. Stella became viciously insane, dragged Ben aside and scratched at him until he bled, causing one of her fake nails to lodge into his skin, warning he would die if he tried to prevent the wedding. Ben found strength and stood up as the marriage began, begging for help. He broke down in tears and Phil was horrified to see the extent of the mental and physical harm Stella had inflicted on his son. Peggy looked after Ben whilst Phil chased Stella to an old factory, where she threw herself off the roof and died instantly. The Mitchells spent months coming to terms with what had occurred to Ben.

Ben developed an interest in music and dancing in 2008. His grandmother Peggy took him tap-dancing, something they kept from Phil, who believed dancing would turn Ben into a sissy. Ben passed a dancing exam in May 2008 with distinction, but when Phil discovered the truth in July, he was furious and forced him to quit dancing.

External links

*EEcharlink|ben_m|Ben Mitchell