EastEnders Ben Mitchell faces serious danger as he steps out in front of a speeding motorbike after failing to hear it coming.
The character, played by Max Bowden, recently lost almost all of his hearing after hitting his head in the boat crash which claimed young Denny Mitchell’s life.
Spoiler pictures for Friday’s episode of the BBC soap show Ben’s mum Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) rushing forward to rescue him – but will she make it on time?
Danger ahead: EastEnders Ben Mitchell faces serious danger as he steps out in front of a speeding motorbike after failing to hear it coming
Ben suffered a severe injury during explosive 35th anniversary scenes, when after a fight with Keanu Taylor, he fell overboard into the Thames.
As he surfaced he banged his head on the side of the boat, with doctors later confirming that the bad boy, who was already partially deaf from having meningitis as a child, had lost almost all of his hearing.
Amid the sad news, Ben had been distracted by the disappearance of his boyfriend Callum Highway, who had been kidnapped by Keanu.
But with the help of Callum’s brother Stuart Highway and Ben’s pal Jay Brown, the trio eventually find Callum alive.
Shock scenes: Spoiler pictures for Friday’s episode of the BBC soap show Ben’s mum Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) rushing forward to rescue him – but will she make it on time?
However, there looks to be more danger as Friday’s episode sees Ben step into the path of danger as he fails to hear a motorbike zooming towards him.
Seeing the what’s about to happen, his mum Kathy rushing towards him, terrified her son is about to be hit.
It comes as EastEnders are to introduce the first deaf character to help Ben cope with his hearing loss in the wake of the explosive boat crash episodes.
Frankie, played by soap newcomer Rose Ayling-Ellis, will be introduced to Walford after being put in touch with Ben via his boyfriend Callum Highway (Tony Clay).
And in a first for the soap, Frankie will communicate with Ben via sign language.
Sad: The character, played by Max Bowden, recently lost almost all of his hearing after hitting his head in the boat crash which claimed young Denny Mitchell’s life
Executive producer Jon Sen stated: ‘It has been a long time ambition of EastEnders to reflect the experience of the deaf community and Ben’s new story was the perfect opportunity to do that. We are thrilled to be working with Rose who will play the part of Frankie.’
While newcomer Rose, who will play Frankie, said: ‘I am so excited to be joining the cast of EastEnders and I am equally proud to be one of the first Deaf actresses to be part of this iconic soap. I can’t wait for everyone to meet Frankie.’
The new storyline was pitched by Charlie Swinbourne, a member of the writing team on the BBC soap.
Discussing the upcoming plot, he said: ‘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.
Injury: It comes as EastEnders are to introduce the first deaf character to help Ben cope with his hearing loss in the wake of the explosive boat crash episodes
Newcomer: Frankie, played by soap newcomer Rose Ayling-Ellis, will be introduced to Walford after being put in touch with Ben via his boyfriend Callum Highway (Tony Clay)
‘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.’
The new storyline will explore what it means to be deaf in the UK today and will shine a spotlight of the experiences and challenges deaf people deal with.
For the new plot, EastEnders worked closely with the the National Deaf Children’s Society to ensure the it is played out as accurately as possible.
Changes: In the wake of boat crash disaster, the BBC soap are set to introduce its very first deaf character, who help the bad boy (played by Max Bowden) deal with his loss of hearing
Rosie Eggleston, who leads the National Deaf Children’s Society’s work with deaf young people said: ‘From my work with so many deaf young people up and down the country, I’ve heard time and time again how demoralising it is for them to never see themselves, their stories or their life experiences reflected in the TV programmes they love.
‘This major new storyline on EastEnders could turn that on its head, and it’s an important step towards making deaf people’s lives more visible and better understood.
‘It’s been brilliant to put the team at EastEnders in touch with deaf young people because they’ve been able to hear first-hand what it’s like to grow up deaf in the UK today. For the UK’s 50,000 deaf children and young people, representation like this is just so important.’
EastEnders continues Friday at 8.30pm on BBC One.
Struggle: ‘This major new storyline on EastEnders could turn that on its head, and it’s an important step towards making deaf people’s lives more visible and better understood’