EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick recently reunited with his former co-star and best friend Max Bowden. Max, 30, left his role as Ben Mitchell last year. The character was arrested for fraud but because the crime was committed in America, he is in prison overseas. It has left the likes of Kathy Beale (Gillian Taylforth) and Callum Highway (Tony Clay) forced to take trips to the US every so often to check on Ben.

Callum did exactly this over the festive period, and returned to Albert Square last month. He shared an update on Ben to dad Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden). Callum revealed that his son was doing well, and had even developed an interest in creative writing. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. Unfortunately, because Phil is currently experiencing mental health struggles, he wasn’t exactly interested in what Callum had to say.

Following his departure from the soap, Max has gone on to star in a theatre show called Birdsong. He continues to stay in touch with some of his EastEnders co-stars though – and of course Jamie Borthwick is on that list. Jamie plays Jay Brown in the soap, best friend to Ben Mitchell. Recently, the stars shared a selfie together on their Instagram accounts, with Max now sporting an impressive moustache.

‘We can find each other anywhere @Jamie_B10’, Max wrote alongside. ‘We do shuuunnnn’, Jamie added. Want to be the first to hear shocking EastEnders spoilers? Who’s leaving Coronation Street? The latest gossip from Emmerdale?. Join 10,000 soaps fans on Metro's WhatsApp Soaps community and get access to spoiler galleries, must-watch videos, and exclusive interviews. Simply click on this link, select ‘Join Chat’ and you’re in! Don't forget to turn on notifications so you can see when we've just dropped the latest spoilers!.

Last week, it was announced that Max has landed one of the lead roles in a new musical Midnight Cowboy. The play, adapted from the 1965 novel and 1969 movie of the same name, follows a man named Joe who travels to New York to escape his past. While there, he meets a character called Ratso, and the pair team up to try and achieve their dreams. Announcing the news on Instagram, Max said: ‘Super excited to be bringing the world premier of Midnight Cowboy the musical to Southwark playhouse – playing the iconic role of Rico “Ratso” Rizzo, alongside an amazing cast. Buzzing for this one.’.

Midnight Cowboy runs at London’s Southwark Playhouse from 4 April to 17 May. Meanwhile, Jamie is currently on tour with his fellow Strictly stars. The actor took part in last year’s series alongside professional dancer Michelle Tsiakkas, becoming the ninth celebrity to be voted out. Comedian Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell were eventually crowned winners of the show. This article was originally published on 23 January 2025.

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