EastEnders star Max Bowden has revealed that he wasn’t expecting to be asked back to the soap for the return appearance he filmed recently.
The actor will reprise his popular role as Ben Mitchell for a brief reappearance in the coming weeks, tying in with Callum Highway’s tragic new storyline.
Talking exclusively on this week’s Soap Scoop podcast, Max told Inside Soap: “It was a surprise to me. It’s a little brief, fleeting visit, which was lovely to do.
“It’s funny, isn’t it? Eighteen months or however seems like a really long time. It doesn’t feel like long has passed in the end, but to people who are there, it feels like you’ve been gone for ages.
“It was interesting, but it was really, really lovely to see him.”
We know that Ben is back for the funeral of Callum’s dad Jonno, but Max is staying tight-lipped about what happens with Ben and husband Callum now love rival Johnny Carter is on the scene.
During his interview with Soap Scoop, the actor wouldn’t be drawn on the sneak filming pics which saw Ben and Callum locked in an embrace.
“That wasn’t scripted – Tony Clay [Callum] and I just hadn’t seen each other for a while!” he joked, clearly giving away nothing about Ballum’s upcoming reunion.
Asked how he feels about Callum cheating on Ben with Johnny, Max replied: “I think you have to separate the character from the actor. The actor sees the reasons that Callum feels so torn and that place of isolation, loneliness and responsibility.
“I think it makes sense that Callum has made the decision. I think Ben obviously doesn’t immediately see it that way, but I think reflection is important and it’s well written. I do think they’ve written it well.”
Max is currently on tour with dark comedy play Murder at Midnight, starring alongside other soap favourites like Susie Blake, Katie McGlynn and Jason Durr.
Hit play below for the full chat to find out more about the play, Max’s EastEnders return – and his exclusive thoughts on the possibility of a full-time comeback as Ben…
EastEnders airs on Mondays-Thursdays at 7.30pm on BBC One. The show also streams on BBC iPlayer, where most episodes drop early at 6am ahead of their TV broadcast.
