EASTENDERS fans have called out a major blunder amid Ben Mitchell return rumours.
Max Bowden previously left the soap in March when his character was arrested by police under an international warrant.
EastEnders viewers were left furious by the fallout of Ben’s exit, claiming the character had been ‘forgotten’ after he was jailed in the US.
He flew to America in a desperate and unsuccessful attempt to get dying Lola Pearce onto a drugs trial.
It emerged that Ben’s credit cards had been blocked and he then stole someone else’s card.
He then illegally spent thousands on hotel bills, a car rental, and even a business class flight home.
Rumours of a return continue to swirl as Ben’s father, Phil (Steve McFadden), and half-brother, Ian Beale (Adam Woodyatt) work together to try and help him.
However, fans were left confused as they spotted a massive plot hole in the technicalities surrounding the initial crime that sparked his exit.
They assumed that Phil (Steve McFadden) is not able to visit the US due to all of his past criminal dealings and prison stints.
So fans were confused about why Ben was able to travel to America with all his previous crimes.
Taking to social media site Reddit, one fan wrote: “If Phil can’t go and visit Ben in America because of his criminal record, how did actual murderer Ben manage it?”
They added: “He was only done for credit card fraud.
“Wouldn’t it have made more sense to have him go down for immigration fraud, since he would have had to go on someone else’s passport?”
Fans could not help but agree with the sentiment, as another user echoed: “The plot holes are GAPING.
“That he went to America in the first place was strange (storywise), but then that they’d extradite him for a few thousand dollars?
“If he’d stolen millions, committed murder or a Felony, then I could understand it…but it is more than ridiculous that they would go through the extradition process.”
They added: “If the FBI had been after him! They were going for ridiculous, so why not make it outlandish too?
Under the tenure of Charlie Jones, one of Ben’s most memorable storylines came when he was being physically and mentally abused by Phil’s girlfriend Stella Crawford (Sophie Thompson).
She tormented him by burning him with a hot spoon and making him bleed.
She also attempted to spoil his friendship with Abi Branning (Lorna Fitzgerald) and she threatened to kill Phil if he told anyone about her actions. Stella later committed suicide after Ben revealed what she did.
In 2010, the character underwent a transformation as Joshua Pascoe took over the role. This was when he was coming to terms with his sexuality when he attended a gym and shared his first kiss with boxer, Duncan Willis (Steven France).
However, the pair were spotted by Patrick Trueman (Rudolph Walker). Scared about being his homosexuality being discovered, he threw a brick through Patrick’s window and tried to intimidate him into not going public.
He eventually admitted the truth after Phil violently beat Christian with a baseball bat after Ben falsely accused him of touching him inappropriately, out of revenge for not having feelings for him.
To test out whether he was in fact gay, Lola offered to have sex with him. Although she concluded that he was definitely gay, Ben soon discovered that Lola became pregnant.
After Phil rejected him, he anonymously stalks his own father and terrorises him with evidence of his past crimes. Ben then tells the police that Phil forced Stella to jump and he was charged with her murder.
The family disown Ben after they discover that he was behind the arrest, and he fears that he was been betrayed by Heather Trott (Cheryl Fergison) who also knew that he set Phil up.
In their confrontation, Ben killed her after he hit Heather over the head with a metal picture frame. Although Phil initially tries to cover up his actions, Ben soon comes clean to the police and he is imprisoned for manslaughter.
He then discovered for a fact that he was the father of Lola’s daughter Lexi when received a visit from her in prison.
In 2014, Ben returns and this time he is played by Harry Reid. He tries to deny his own sexuality and enters into a relationship with Abi Branning.
After several awkward encounters with Johnny Carter, he reveals to his partner that he’s still attracted to men. However, she is desperate to stay with him and said that their relationship is about more than sex. However, he soon embarks on a new romance with Paul Coker (Jonny Labey).
As the affair carries on, Abi discovers his secret. Aunt Babe (Annette Badland) convinces her to fake a pregnancy in order to stay with him. She later faked a miscarriage in an attempt to end the lie after Ben revealed that he had an STI and so they couldn’t have sex for real to get pregnant. In revenge, Babe wrote a letter to Ben which revealed the truth and it was read by a returning Louise (Tilly Keeper).
Ben and Paul resumed their relationship with the full blessings of their families. However, he was left heartbroken when Paul was murdered on a celebratory night out.
In 2019 Max Bowden took over the role as Ben returned to the square. One of his major storylines was the secret relationship with Callum ‘Halfway’ Highway (Tony Clay), who was with Whitney (Shona McGarty). After they share a kiss, Callum proposes to Whitney in an attempt to deny his feelings for men. The day before their wedding, Callum confesses all to Whitney.
Just as she is about to expose their secret in the packed Queen Vic, Hunter Owen (Charlie Winter) decides to hold all the residents hostage. Ben is shot during the siege and is revived by Sonia Fowler (Natalie Cassidy). Phil eventually forgives his son for all his wrongdoings and he and Callum finally get together.
But there were problems in store for the couple that took place during the 35th Anniversary week of the soap.
The Queen Vic boat crashed due to a fight between Keanu, Phil and Ben, causing it to go down. Already suffering hearing problems, Ben hit his head and further damaged his hearing aid. This created a storyline about him becoming permanently deaf.
“He could have harassed a doctor, home invaded, kidnapped until they agreed to help, etc…at least that would have made some kind of sense.”
And a third added: “That’s exactly what I was thinking lol.”
It comes as Kathy (Gillian Taylforth) previously returned from a trip to America, telling Phil that their son is in a bad way.
She adds that Ian has stayed behind to help secure a better lawyer for Ben.
Meanwhile, Kathy also asked her ex-husband to put all of his efforts into helping Ben’s appeal.
EastEnders is available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
