<Ul> <Li> Ronnie Mitchell </Li> <Li> Roxy Mitchell </Li> <Li> Billy Mitchell </Li> <Li> Lola Pearce </Li> <Li> Aunt Sal </Li> </Ul> <P> Benjamin "Ben" Mitchell is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders . The role has been played by five different actors . Matthew Silver appeared as an infant Ben from 1996--1998, and Morgan Whittle played him as a toddler from 1999--2001 . After a six - year absence from the series, Charlie Jones assumed the role of Ben in 2006 . In May 2010, it was announced that the role was recast to Joshua Pascoe, who made his first appearance as Ben on 13 December 2010 . Pascoe then took a break from EastEnders between 13 May 2011 and 9 September 2011 . In May 2012, it was announced that Pascoe would be leaving the role, and made his final appearance on 24 August 2012 . On 14 May 2014, it was announced that Ben would be returning to the serial, with the part being recast to Harry Reid, who appeared from 22 September 2014 . In October 2017, it was announced that Reid had been written out of the show by show bosses . Following the news, EastEnders fans start to launch a petition to save Ben Mitchell from the axe and don't lose' the best Ben' that EastEnders had . </P> <P> Ben's storylines include a feud between the show's Mitchell and Beale families for his custody; developing a love of dance and the arts, which is a source of tension between him and his father, Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden); being physically and mentally abused by his father's girlfriend Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson); struggling to come to terms with his homosexuality and then attempting to hide it; unintentionally killing Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison); having a daughter, Lexi Pearce, with Lola Pearce (Danielle Harold); a relationship with Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald), while having a secret relationship with Paul Coker (Jonny Labey), who he had a relationship with when he came out; being involved in a homophobic attack which caused Paul's death and romantically involved with Luke Browning (Adam Astill), the son of rapist James Willmott - Brown (William Boyde). </P> <P> As played by Jones, Ben received generally poor reviews from critics . Grace Dent of The Guardian wrote several negative opinion pieces on the character, and contacted the BBC with a list of suggestions for humorous storylines in which he could be killed - off . However, the storyline where Ben was abused by Stella won "Best Storyline" at the 2007 Inside Soap Awards, and was nominated for the "Best Soap Storyline" accolade at the TV Quick and TV Choice Awards . In 2012, Pascoe was nominated "Villain of the Year", but lost out to Andrew Lancel (Coronation Street). Lisa O'Connell, also writing for The Guardian, was complimentary of Ben's later, protracted coming out storyline, which she called "a perfect foundation for years of dramatic conflict". </P>

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