Max Bowden has "hope" that Ben Mitchell and Callum Highway will reunite on EastEnders.
The actor has played Ben on the BBC One soap for several years and welcomes the day that Ben and Callum ( Tony Clay ) get back together. The on-screen couple split during last week's episodes, despite Callum finally finding out about Ben's rape ordeal.
Ben was attacked by Lewis, and when he came to the police station to report it, Callum found out what had happened and begged Ben to give him another chance in their relationship. However, he said it wasn't enough and that he wasn't the right person for Callum as he always messed up, insisting their relationship was going wrong long before Lewis stepped on the scene.
Actor Max though is hopeful Ben and Callum could get back together.
Speaking to Inside Soap magazine, he said: "I'd like to say there is some hope, but who knows what's going to happen in the future? Ben and Callum will always have that glint in their eyes for each other."
Max also opened up about working with Gillian Taylforth and Steve McFadden, who play his on-screen parents Kathy and Phil.
"Gilly’s wonderful - she’s a gift. We laugh a lot together. I’m always doing something naughty and trying to get in her eye-line, and she says, 'You s*d!' She sings all the time, and we call her Jukebox Gillian. Say any word, and she’ll have a song for it!" he added.
"Any time I see that I have an eight-page scene with Steve McFadden, I get excited. I learn from him every time I’m on set.
"That man has been playing Phil for over 32 years and done everything you can possibly do in soap, but he still works as hard as he did on day one. In my opinion, he’s the greatest actor in soap."
In emotional scenes last week, Ben told Callum this would be it for them.
"I saw you the other day with that bloke, do you know, it was the happiest I've seen you in months. I know what you want - you want the Sunday afternoons in bed, the picking wallpaper and fighting over rubbish television. I wanted it all at one point too, but it's just not in me," he said during a heartbreaking chat in the Square.
Callum tried to reassure him: "I want you and everything that comes with it. I'll take it. I love you Ben and I know that you love me. I'll do whatever it takes, we can move, I'll leave the police. I would do anything at all, please just give us one more chance."
*If you've been the victim of sexual assault, you can access help and resources via www.rapecrisis.org.uk or calling the national telephone helpline on 0808 802 9999.
