Ben’s op is off... but the job is on!
WILL PHIL LET HIS SON TAKE ON THE DANGEROUS MISSION?
Troubled Ben is left upset this week, when his operation is cancelled at the last minute – and he demands that Phil let him in on his high-stakes criminal job.
Despite almost losing
Callum over their dodgy dealing, Ben has no qualms about offering his back-up to Phil, as the Mitchell hard man prepares to make enough money to buy the Vic.
Ben’s keen to overcome his upset about the cancelled op by throwing himself into the dangerous job, no matter what anyone thinks. But with Phil the only one who can give him the green light to step up, Ben must convince his dad.
“The operation being cancelled is the cruellest blow – Ben feels angry, bitter and frustrated,” says our Walford insider. “For him, everything is riding on the success of the cochlear implant and to be so close to the op, but then have it cancelled because he’s under the weather, is maddening. He just wants something to distract him.”
Kathy is anxious about her son’s state of mind, and seeks out Phil to discuss it. He’s shocked when she reveals that Ben’s op was cancelled and has been rescheduled for a later date. The news plunges Phil into turmoil as he tries to weigh the risks of bringing Ben on board after what went down between him and Danny Hardcastle. But when Kathy starts to run through her concerns about their son’s state of mind, Phil is quick to close down her fears. He needs to focus on this job and working out if Ben’s ready to join him.
“Phil’s been hell-bent on getting enough money to buy the Vic – it’s been a way for him to manage his complex feelings about Ben’s
The operation being cancelled is a cruel blow for Ben…”
operation and Dennis’ death,” explains our spy. “On the one hand, it would be good for him to have Ben – whom he trusts implicitly – by his side as Mitchell back-up. But then again, Ben’s hearing problems could put him in more danger and wreck everything. Given that Phil lost it at Danny Hardcastle when he suggested Ben wasn’t up to it, Phil feels like a hypocrite right now.”
As Ben campaigns to be let in on the job, Phil takes a call from Sharon and is momentarily distracted by some graffiti on Dennis’ bench. When he heads back to clean it off, Phil is accosted by
Danny who asks for a word. What does the hardened criminal want to say to Phil, and will the Mitchell hard man want to hear it?