EastEnders’ Max Bowden fuels soap return rumours with reunion photo after dramatic exit
EastEnders star Max Bowden, who played Ben Mitchell, has fuelled rumours of a possible return to the soapfollowing his exit last March, after he shared a photo with a cast member
EastEnders star Max Bowden, who played Ben Mitchell, has shared a photo with former co-star Jamie Borthwick, fuelling rumours that a potential return to the soap could be on the cards.
Max left the soap in March 2024, but keeps in touch with Jamie, who plays Jay. Max shared a black and white photo of him and Jamie on his Instagram Stories in which he sported a new moustache and he wrote: “We find each other anywhere @jamie_b10.”
The 30 year old from Woking starred as Ben for five years and was the sixth actor to play Phil Mitchell and Kathy Beale’s son. During Max’s time on the soap, his character tried to k.i.l.l his dad, he was shot during a siege in the Queen Vic, and was involved in a plot to kill Keanu. Ben eventually left Albert Square after being extradited to America for credit card fraud.
Max shared a photo with Jamie, fuelling rumours of a return to Albert Square ( Image: bowden5/Instagram)
His character was mentioned earlier this week, when Callum Highway (Tony Clay) returned to Albert Square after spending time in the US and visiting Ben in prison. He found Phil in the cafe and told him how his son was doing, saying he was doing really well and “keeping a low profile,” and had become interested in creative writing while in jail. Phil didn’t react to the news, but as fans know, he is currently facing a battle with his mental health and his storyline is expected to take a dramatic turn over the next few weeks.
In July last year, Max spoke about his reasons for leaving the soap on The Lewis Nicholls Show on YouTube, revealing he was “very tired.”
In response to being asked whether he chose to leave or was sacked, he said: “The important thing was my time was ready. I was very tired, and like I said, I wasn’t me, I wasn’t. The Max sat in front of you today was kind of a ghost, and they recognised that – I recognised that.”
Max and Jamie as Ben and Jay in the soap ( Image: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)
He continued: “I did nearly six hundred episodes in five years, which is a hell of a lot, and it was time for a rest. The character was tired, I was tired, they [the producers] were probably tired of me being tired. From an honest perspective, I think a lot of it was that I needed to go for a bit. I needed to go work on me, get myself back to a place of really good mental health, focus on healing and also be a dad.”
Before his role in EastEnders, Max starred as Justin Fitzgerald in Waterloo Road and also appeared in episodes of Casualty and Doctors. More recently, he has appeared in a touring theatre production of Birdsong, based on the Frist World War-set novel by Sebastian Faulks.
