EastEnders spoilers: Ben Mitchell makes a LIFE-CHANGING decision
Airs at 7:30pm on Wednesday 9 August 2023 on BBC One.
EastEnders' Ben Mitchell takes his first step on the road to recovery in Wednesday's episode (7.30pm, see our TV Guide for full listings).
Phil's son is at rock bottom after husband Callum Highway discovered he's been secretly battling bulimia. Callum tried his hardest to get Ben to open up about his problems, but to no avail.
The morning after the couple's showdown, Ben's in a terrible state. Unable to talk about what's happening to him, the troubled dad heads straight for the Boxing Den to work out all his anger on a punch bag.
Kat Slater is horrified when she arrives at the boxing gym and sees what a mess Ben is in. And it isn't long before she discovers what demons are plaguing him.
Ben starts to open up to Kat and reveals he's still deeply traumatised by the rape he suffered at the hands of evil Lewis Butler.
As a fellow survivor of rape, Kat knows what Ben is going through and is able to offer her perspective. Although sympathetic, Kat warns Ben he'll completely destroy his life and those of the ones he loves unless he seeks professional help.
Knowing she's right, Ben reluctantly agrees to attend a support group, and Kat is there by his side throughout the meeting.
Afterwards, Ben returns home and finds Callum waiting for him. Once again he pleads with his husband to let him in and share what's going on.
Will Ben find the courage to be honest?
Elsewhere, Whitney Dean and Zack Hudson are forced to have a difficult conversation about the future of their relationship.
Zack is keen for them to try for another baby now he's been told by doctors that his viral load for HIV is undetectable. But after suffering the harrowing loss of their baby daughter Peach, Whitney is adamant she can't put her body through another pregnancy.
Can the couple work through their differences, or this the end for them?
Zack and Whitney aren't the only Walford couple with babies on the brain.
Sonia Fowler and Reiss Colwell also have a heartfelt discussion about whether their future includes them having a child.
What will they decide?
EastEnders continues on BBC One on Thursday at 7:30pm.
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Laura has been a journalist for over a decade, writing about soaps, TV entertainment, fashion, beauty, and food. After graduating from university, she started her career working at a national soap and TV magazine. During her seven-year stint there she joined the cast of Emmerdale for a tour around the famous village, partied with soap stars at awards bashes, interviewed her acting idol David Suchet, and sat in the front row of Strictly Come Dancing.
Her heart lies with the soaps, and her all-time favourite character has to be EastEnders' Pat Butcher - no one rocked a big earring quite like her. She's also a huge fan of detective crime dramas, particularly old school Inspector Morse, Endeavour, and adaptations of Agatha Christie's Marple and Poirot. When she's not writing, she loves a spot of second-hand shopping and going on adventures with her young son.