EastEnders fans were in tears during last night’s episode (Thursday, Jan. 14) as Pam Coker (Lin Blakley) returned to Walford to comfort Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) who has been suffering since being involved in a homophobic attack.
The attack saw his husband, Callum Highway (Tony Clay) brutally beaten while Ben froze in fear. Ever since Ben has been finding it hard to cope and struggling to talk about the event with Callum.
Pam left the Square in 2016, alongside her husband Les (Roger Sloman) after the shocking death of their grandson, Paul (Jonny Labey) who was killed in a homophobic attack. Ben was dating Paul at the time and was left distraught.
Since her departure, she has made appearances in the Square throughout the years, but there was a glimmer of hope for Ben when she paid him a visit to see how he was doing last night.
She offered Ben some comforting words, saying, “Kathy told me about the attack. This world never ceases to let you down, does it? When I heard your Callum got hurt, my stomach tied in knots. I thought of Paul, then I thought of you and I just had to come down to see if you were OK, so tell me the truth, Ben. Are you OK?”
Ben broke down and sobbed in her arms, admitting that he wasn’t doing well. “Oh, it’s all right, I’m here. I’m here. You don’t have to be brave around me, Ben,” she said.
Later on, Ben finally opened up to Callum about how he was feeling. “They could have killed you, like they did Paul,” he revealed.
After spilling all of his emotions to Callum, he then went on to say that he’s not going to keep pretending that he’s not scared anymore.
Fans at home were touched by the emotional moment, with some left crying at the “wonderful” scene between the two.
Pam and Ben making me cry. It’s too early for this 😭😭 #EastEndersJanuary 14, 2022
@bbceastenders I’m crying with Ben. The scenes with Pam are wonderful. Her visit is just what he needs. I loved when that she said ‘Your Callum’January 14, 2022
I love Ben so much and the fact that he has been feeling so low after being attacked is just devastating......It was so great seeing Pam 😊 #eastendersJanuary 13, 2022
I love that Pam came back when Ben needed her most 🥰#eastendersJanuary 13, 2022
The hand hold and him breaking down in pams arms absolutely broke me love Pam and bens friendship it’s so beautiful #EastEnders pic.twitter.com/s01kGijCeEJanuary 13, 2022
EastEnders airs tonight at 8:30pm on BBC1— see our TV Guide for full listings.
