EastEnders spoiler: Ben Mitchell goes deaf in aftermath of boat disaster as soap’s sound cuts out
EASTENDERS Ben Mitchell's loss of hearing after the boat disaster will be shown by the soap's sound cutting out.
Last night, The Sun's Bizarre column revealed that the BBC One show will introduce its first mainstream deaf character, Frankie, to help Ben come to terms with his disability.
On Friday night, fans could see that Ben, played by Max Bowden, was in extreme distress after surviving the crash that claimed Denny's life.
While he was clearly upset about boyfriend Callum being missing, and the loss of his step-brother, there was also a high-pitched ringing playing over the scenes as sound distorted - disorientating the character.
This is to represent his loss hearing, and will only get worse in upcoming episodes - including tonight's instalment of the soap.
Ben already suffered some loss of hearing after fighting meningitis as a child, and the bad boy has always worn a hearing aid.
Last year, actor Max showed off the tiny aid that his character was wearing on screen after viewers were left confused when they could no longer see him wearing one.
It will soon be revealed that Ben sustained a head injury in the boat party disaster, which triggered his additional loss of hearing.
Rose Ayling-Ellis will make her debut as Frankie, who is put in touch with Ben through boyfriend Tony Clay, and she will communicate with Ben using sign language — a first for the soap.
A soap insider previously said: "Ben’s life is going to be turned upside down but, thanks to Frankie, he gets some unexpected help.
"The storyline will highlight some of the challenges deaf people go through."
Bosses have worked closely with the National Deaf Children’s Society to ensure the storyline is portrayed as accurately as possible.
The storyline was pitched by soap writer Charlie Swinbourne, who shared: "Creating a storyline and a character for EastEnders has been a lifelong dream of mine, so it's been an incredible experience to work with the EastEnders team over the last few months.
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"Being deaf myself, and a fan of the show from an early age, I've always looked out for Ben Mitchell's character because he was the one who wore hearing aids!
"I wanted to explore how losing more of his hearing affects Ben, as well as how it makes him see the world - and his deaf identity - a bit differently as time goes on.
"I also wanted to see deaf characters and sign language become a part of Albert Square, because we see so little representation of deafness in mainstream media. I'm really excited to see this story reach the screen."