The following article contains extended discussion about eating disorders.
EastEnders spoilers follow.
EastEnders has confirmed an issue-based storyline for Ben Mitchell has started.
The latest episode foreshadowed that Ben was struggling to cope with recent traumatic events, such as his rapist Lewis being arrested for a new crime and Lola encouraging Jay to officially adopt Lexi.
Viewers have simultaneously been seeing Ben undergoing intense physical training, and this will evolve into an eating disorder over the next several months.
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Ben will become increasingly restrictive with his diet as he goes to harmful extremes to control his weight. While Ben has expressed willingness to get professional help for his anxiety, he will hide his bulimia from his husband Callum and his mum Kathy.
The EastEnders team have been working with the advocacy group Beat to ensure that Ben's story will reflect those that many men face in silence.
Producer Chris Clenshaw said: "It was vital for us to work alongside Beat to accurately present, and sensitively portray Ben's bulimia storyline.
"Max's [Bowden] performance has thoughtfully portrayed the isolating reality of an eating disorder with compassion and understanding as we explore how the traumatic events of Ben's past have affected his mental health."
Beat's Tom Quinn added that storylines like this one in EastEnders are important because as many as one in four people who have eating disorders are men.
"It's rare to see storylines that show how men are affected by these serious mental illnesses," Quinn said.
"At Beat, we welcome that EastEnders has chosen to highlight this important issue and we've been pleased to review scripts, to help ensure bulimia is represented in a sensitive and accurate way. We hope that Ben's story will help to raise awareness of the warning signs and encourage people to reach out for the support they need.”
EastEnders airs on Mondays - Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer.
Read more EastEnders spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Beat is a charity which raises awareness and understanding of eating disorders, and supports those affected by them. It has a one-to-one secure messaging service, and details of its phone helplines can be found here.
