EastEnders viewers were left confused following Monday night's installment of the BBC soap. Fans were convinced that they had "missed an episode" after Ben Mitchell's surprise exit. Last week, the Walford favourite, played by Harry Reid, was on a ship to Calais where he bumped into Melanie Owen, with Ciara Maguire keeping a close eye on their dealings. But on Monday's episode, both Mel and Ciara had teleported back to England as they discussed their "deal" involving Mel's son Hunter's whereabouts.
© Photo: BBCBen Mitchell has officially left Walford
EastEnders: Harry Reid is leaving Ben Mitchell role
Viewers went to Twitter to vent their frustration at EastEnders bosses, accusing them of "fast-forwarding" key moments. "What's the point of doing these cliff-hangers if they don’t even continue on from them," wrote one fan, while another added: "@EastEnders please complete a storyline before jumping to 100 more. What happened to Luke, Tanya? Where's Louise? Is Janet better? I've watched EastEnders for years and the last few months have been the worst EVER." A third post read: "Seriously @bbceastenders what are you doing?! Nothing makes sense. 100% ridiculousness. So many questions and queries." A fourth said: "Dear #EastEnders, please STOP fast-forwarding the storyline several days after the last episode and SHOW us what happens…."
Harry's exit from the show was confirmed in October; the actor has played the role of Ben Mitchell since 2014. At the time, a spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Harry will be leaving EastEnders. Harry has been a great addition to the cast and we wish him all the best for the future." Just moments before his exit from the soap last week, Harry took to Instagram to thank his fans for their support. He said: "Hello everyone, just a quick message.
I wanted to say a few words because my last episode is going on air in ten minutes. I just wanted to say thank you really, thank you to everyone who's been supporting me during my time on EastEnders." He added: "To the fan groups and all the collages they've done and the videos. You know everyone on here on Instagram and Twitter - on all social media that's really documented my time on there and I really appreciate it."
