EastEnders introduced fans to a brand new Ben Mitchell (again) this week, as Max Bowden took over the role of Phil and Kathy's troublesome son.
Max is the sixth actor to play the role of Ben and landed the part at the start of the year, following in the footsteps of Harry Reid.
If you were a Waterloo Road superfan a few years back, there's a high chance you may know a fair bit about Max already, but if not, here are some quick facts to bring you up to speed.
Max Bowden age – how old is he?
Max was born on December 31, 1994, making him 24 years of age.
This also means Max is a year older than EastEnders' Ben, who was born on screen in March 1996 and recently turned 23.
Max Bowden in Waterloo Road – who did he play?
Prior to playing Ben Mitchell, Max's most notable role was the part of Justin Fitzgerald in BBC One's Waterloo Road. Max joined the school-based drama for the tenth and final series in 2014.
Justin was the son of Waterloo Road's newest headteacher Vaughan Fitzgerald (Neil Pearson) and immediately shook up the show with some rebellious behaviour.
Justin and his younger brother Leo moved in with their father after their mum suffered a breakdown, but this also meant living with Vaughan's new girlfriend Allie (Nicola Stephenson) and her children Floyd and Tiffany.
Mischievous Justin was struggling with abandonment issues and resented his father, but viewers did see another side to him when a surprise relationship later developed between Justin and Tiffany.
Speaking to Digital Spy in 2014 about life on Waterloo Road, Max commented: "Obviously, it was intimidating joining such a long-running drama, but everybody was very welcoming and lovely. It made it much, much easier.
"Nicola Stephenson and Neil Pearson were both amazing to work with. I feel as if Neil taught me a lot as a person as well. When I travelled up to Scotland to film for the show, he was like a father figure to me and someone I could go to if I ever needed any help.
"He taught me a lot about acting, but he also taught me as a person and I owe him a lot."
Max Bowden acting roles – what else has he been in?
Aside from Waterloo Road and EastEnders, you may remember Max briefly popping up in two other BBC shows.
The actor played guest character Kash Ryland in an episode of Casualty in 2016. He also made a guest appearance in Doctors the same year, portraying William King.
Max's other acting credits include roles in Demolition Dad and Saved.
Max Bowden in EastEnders – when did he land the role of Ben?
EastEnders bosses announced the casting of Max as Ben Mitchell in January this year, after the character had been absent from screens for a year. Harry Reid previously played Ben the Fifth between 2014 and 2018.
At an EastEnders press day, Max spoke to Digital Spy and other media about the tricky task of taking over an established character.
He told us: "It was important for me to get as much backstory [as possible]. I worked a lot with upstairs and got all of the backstory, some old clips and some other stuff to basically form where I'm at now.
"[Ben's] had lot of turmoil, with everything that's happened to him in his past, and I think that's important for me to give as much to the character in terms of his history. "
Max also thanked predecessor Harry Reid for reaching out to him on Twitter following the recasting announcement: "I thought that was lovely. We shared an exchange and I thought it was a really, really touching thing to do. Yeah, I appreciated it a lot."
Max Bowden trivia – what else do we know about him?
Max previously worked with his on-screen EastEnders dad Steve McFadden (Phil Mitchell) at the age of 9, when they both appeared in the same pantomime.
Max clearly has a passion for singing as well as acting, so will probably be front of the queue for any EastEnders cast performances when Children In Need comes around each year.
The talented star, who's previously named Ed Sheeran as his favourite artist, can be seen online in various YouTube videos belting out some familiar tunes.
Funnily enough, Max also seemed to have Ben Mitchell on the brain in a 2015 interview he did with Sugarscape to promote his Waterloo Road role.
Asked who he thought had killed Lucy Beale, Max replied: "Ben, I'd say Ben." Little did Max know that he was casting aspersions on the character he'd be playing four years later…
Max Bowden Twitter and Instagram pages
If you want to follow Max on social media, he's active on both Twitter and Instagram.
EastEnders airs on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays on BBC One.
Read more news, spoilers and gossip on our EastEnders homepage
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