EastEnders' Ben Mitchell star Max Bowden 'splits from girlfriend' before BBC return

Max Bowden has reportedly split from his girlfriend just weeks before he's set to make a comeback to EastEnders. The actor, 30, who is best known for playing Ben Mitchell on the BBC soap, met Tori Allen-Martin, 39, when they starred together in the musical Midnight Cowboy earlier this year.

The pair became known to fans on social media for sharing a series of loved-up posts, but, insiders have claimed that it all 'fizzled out' once they started to work on other projects. The soap star is currently on the road with former Coronation Street star Katie McGlynn in Murder at Midnight, and is said to have 'tried to make it work' with Tori, but they eventually called it a day."

A source told The Sun : "Max and Tori were inseparable while working together and that’s when their romance blossomed. But since working on separate projects the relationship fizzled out. They tried to make it work but with Max now about to go on a theatre tour it Murder at Midnight they decided to call time on their relationship. It was fun while it lasted."

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It all comes as Max is set to make a comeback to Albert Square as Ben, having initially left his role as the Walford bad boy last year when his alter-ego was sent to prison in the US for credit card fraud. Max recently spoke out about his brief comeback, which will see Ben, who is married to Callum Highway, return to Albert Square for the funeral of his father-in-law Jonno Highway (Richard Graham), after he was killed off in scenes that aired last week.

During a recent appearance on This Morning, he told hosts Josie Gibson and Rylan Clark: "He is! Yes. Well, he's coming back as a doting husband. He's managed to get a transfer from the US and he comes back for a brief stint which was lovely to film and see everybody. He's been a naughty boy. He's essentially...he gets extradited on a day release and he comes back for Callum's dad's funeral!"

But with Callum ( Tony Clay ) having recently cheated with Johnny, and with those feelings expected to grow, Ben may not be revisiting the happy family he left behind. He will be making his return alongside Stuart Highway ( Ricky Champ ), and is only planned as a short stint for the time being.

Max last appeared on screens as Ben in early 2024, as his character was arrested for an international crime.

The character has received a number of mentions since, most recently when his father Phil Mitchell found out Callum was having an affair with Johnny. How will Ben react when he finds out?

His return was reported earlier this year, with sources claiming that executive producer “Ben [Wadey] had a list of characters he wanted to bring back and Ben Mitchell was one. It’s taken a little while to sort out, but Max will be back filming on Albert Square later this year," a source told the Sun at the time.

“Ben wanted to meet Max and see where his head was at," the source continued, revealing that the new boss went to see the actor in the musical Midnight Cowboy.

Things hadn’t ended particularly well, and Ben wanted to assure him this could be his fresh start," the source continued. Ben Wadey wanted to give the 'axed star' another chance.

Reports at the time of his exit suggested tha,t as Max's contract came to an end, bosses decided not to extend it and to write out both the character and Max.

The source then revealed that Max had "agreed to come back for a short stint" after Ben pitched a comeback storyline for the character.

The Mirror has contacted Max's representatives for comment.

EastEnders airs Mondays to Thursdays at 7:30pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. * Follow Mirror Celebs and TV on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram,Twitter,Facebook,and Threads.