EastEnders has revealed Ben Mitchell's true intentions for returning to Albert Square — and it's bad news for Phil Mitchell.
Shortly after returning to Walford last week, Ben (Max Bowden) convinced his father Phil (Steve McFadden) to become business partners and even paid off some of his debts... but his intentions were far from pure.
Viewers later found out that Ben had somehow coerced Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold) into going along with some sort of secret plot, warning her that "no-one needs to get hurt" if they "plan this right".
All became clear minutes into Monday's (April 8) episode when Lola privately urged Ben to get started with his plan to steal all of Phil's money, so they could get out of Walford.
Ben assured her that all was going to plan, but found out that was not the case when his dad made a shock admission soon after at the Arches.
"I'm skint, Ben. I'm broke," he admitted. "That Spanish deal took everything I had."
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This threw a serious wrench into Ben's plot, especially when Lola threatened to leave upon hearing the shocking news. However, Ben warned her that walking out now would "bankrupt" Phil.
After inviting his dad over for dinner, Ben stunned Lola by pitching Phil that they could rebuild the Mitchell empire together if they pool their resources.
"I got old, I suppose. I started making mistakes," Phil admitted. "With each mistake, I got more desperate... It's all gone, Ben."
"I believe in you," Ben assured him. "You're Phil Mitchell!"
Lola understandably assumed that Ben might have had a change of heart about conning his father, but Ben then revealed his true real motive: build Phil's fortune back up… and then steal it all out from under him!
"I don't just want his money. I want his happiness, his dignity," Ben vowed.
The plot has serious implications not just for Phil, but for Ben's half-sister Louise too. Stay tuned because there are more revelations from Ben and Lola to come...
EastEnders continues on Tuesday (April 9) at 7.30pm on BBC One.
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