Max Bowden has said that his EastEnders<\/a> character Ben Mitchell will protect husband Callum Highway (Tony Clay) from the truth in the aftermath of being raped by bar manager Lewis Butler (Aidan O\u2019Callaghan)<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ben is set to be brutally attacked by the man he thought of as a friend later this month, during a turbulent time for the troubled character. So far on-screen, Lewis has been outwardly charming and supportive towards Ben as he struggles to deal with PTSD over a homophobic attack at the start of the year.<\/p>\n This is something which has put Ben at loggerheads with his husband as he sought to dish out his own brand of justice<\/a>. But any trust Ben places in Lewis is about to be abused in the most horrific way.<\/p>\n Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other media about this challenging new storyline, Bowden explained that an unaware Callum will ask Ben outright if he slept with Lewis \u2013 and Ben doesn\u2019t deny it.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s the confusion still, the idea of not wanting to be a victim,\u201d the actor revealed. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe thing Ben\u2019s always tried to be is a man and what he believes that to be from Phil. And he thinks it\u2019s easier for Callum to think that he\u2019s cheated on him than to think that Ben is a victim of rape.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n But as Bowden pointed out, Ben\u2019s decision will only make his situation worse.<\/p>\n \u201cHe doesn\u2019t quite understand the consequences that come with it \u2013 such darkness, and he\u2019s so shell-shocked and damaged that this idea of self-sabotage and not deserving safety and security and happiness just comes over him. That is what is important in that moment, to protect Callum.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Reflecting on whether Ben will be able to confide in anyone, the actor added: \u201cIn the immediate, it\u2019s difficult for him to come to terms with what\u2019s happened.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWith any sort of trauma eventually you have to release, so there will come a time when it becomes more on the surface. But at the moment he\u2019s got to rebuild his self-understanding again, this knowledge of himself and coming to terms with the fact that he will never be the same again.\u201d<\/p> Asked whether he thinks Ben and Callum can overcome such a dark time, Bowden certainly hopes that will be the case. \u201cI\u2019ve always said that working with Tony is one of the joys in my life. So selfishly, as an actor, I\u2019d always want Ben and Callum to find themselves reunited, and hopefully, we can see that happen.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c[There\u2019s] such a big following and real love and understanding between them. There\u2019s a big journey to go on for both of them to get to what each character should be, and what they ultimately can be together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n EastEnders is working closely with Survivors Manchester<\/a> on Ben\u2019s storyline. You can find help and support at https:\/\/www.survivorsmanchester.org.uk\/<\/a> and https:\/\/www.survivorsuk.org\/<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n Visit our dedicated\u00a0EastEnders\u00a0<\/a>page for all the latest news, interviews and spoilers.\u00a0<\/strong>If you\u2019re looking for more to watch check out our\u00a0TV guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n By Laura Denby Published: Tuesday, 17 May 2022 at 12:00 am This article contains discussion of sexual assault that some readers may find upsetting. Max Bowden has said that his EastEnders character Ben Mitchell will protect husband Callum Highway (Tony Clay) from the truth in the aftermath of being raped by bar manager Lewis Butler […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":15555,"template":"","categories":[2,5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/eastenders-star-reveals-ben-will-shield-callum-from-truth-of-rape-ordeal-scaled.jpg",2560,1732,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/eastenders-star-reveals-ben-will-shield-callum-from-truth-of-rape-ordeal-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/eastenders-star-reveals-ben-will-shield-callum-from-truth-of-rape-ordeal-300x203.jpg",300,203,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/eastenders-star-reveals-ben-will-shield-callum-from-truth-of-rape-ordeal-768x520.jpg",768,520,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/eastenders-star-reveals-ben-will-shield-callum-from-truth-of-rape-ordeal-1024x693.jpg",800,541,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/eastenders-star-reveals-ben-will-shield-callum-from-truth-of-rape-ordeal-1536x1039.jpg",1536,1039,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/05\/eastenders-star-reveals-ben-will-shield-callum-from-truth-of-rape-ordeal-2048x1386.jpg",2048,1386,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Laura Denby Published: Tuesday, 17 May 2022 at 12:00 am This article contains discussion of sexual assault that some readers may find upsetting. Max Bowden has said that his EastEnders character Ben Mitchell will protect husband Callum Highway (Tony Clay) from the truth in the aftermath of being raped by bar manager Lewis Butler…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/15554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2022\/05\/386329-00b41b6.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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