Eastenders - Ben Mitchell Confesses To Ian That He Murdered Heather Trott

We have recently seen hard man Phil Mitchell struggle with his conscious, after covering up Hev's murder to protect his psycho son Ben. However this has caused phil to loose everyone else around him. His adopted son Jay doesn't want to be near him, his cousin Roxy has moved out, girlfriend Shirley Carter has left him, and to top it all off, DCI Marsden has warned Phil that she will be watching his every move waiting for him to make a mistake.

Phil feels completely alone, and he blames Ben for the whole thing. Ben is the only person Phil has left and he despises him. Despite his hatred towards Ben, Phil still can't bring himself to shop his own son to the police, because deep down he blames himself for the way Ben has turned out. With nowhere else to turn, Phil resorts to his old ways, and hits the bottle.

While drunk, Phil tells Ben that it would have been better for everyone if he had died in the car crash with his Mum Kathy. Ben is shocked and visibly upset by Phil's outburst. Later Ben is worried that Phil will start talking about Hev's murder while he is drunk, so he tries his best to keep him in the house. However when Phil later runs out of booze, he makes his way to the minute mart where he drunkenly stumbles in to Mandy. Phil then moves on to the R&R in an attempt to get more alcohol.

Ben soon finds his Dad outside the R&R trying to break in as he has forgot his keys, Ben tries to get him to return home, but Phil is in no mood for his son, and starts a row with him. Phil tells Ben that he wishes he was never born, and that all the recent trouble was caused by him murdering Heather. As Phil is angrily laying into his son, he fails to notice an even angrier looking Shirley listening to their row.

Phil and Ben are both shocked to see Shirley stood there, and immediately worry about how much she has heard. Phil tells Ben to go home, while he speaks to Shirl and finds out how much she knows. An angry Shirley tells Phil to get over to the flat now, but before they leave a Police officer stops to ask if everything is alright, after sensing the amnesty between them. Phil and Shirley tell the Officer that everything is fine, before heading over to the flat to talk in private. Meanwhile unbeknown to Phil, Ben has just watched his Dad and Shirley talking to the police and is convinced that Shirley has reported it was him who killed Hev after over hearing the conversation.

Back at the flat, an anxious Phil is relieved when he discovers Shirley didn't hear what his earlier row was about, she is just angry at Phil drunkenly laying into Ben. Phil tells Shirley that he does truly love her and always has, while Shirley finally breaks down over the death of her best friend, and the two comfort each other. It's a very touching moment between the two, and marks a turning point in their on off relationship. As they head back to the Mitchell's, Phil is ecstatic that he and Shirley are back together and she has agreed to come home, but his happiness is to be short lived, as at the very same moment his sons are caving under the pressure, and both are ready to get things of their chests.

Jay has not been himself since he witnessed Ben murdering Hev, and can't deal with the guilt. He has recently moved out of the Mitchells as he cannot bare being around Ben, and girlfriend Abi has become extremely worried about his mental state. While Phil and Shirley have been reconciling, Jay has been drinking and taking Cora's hay fever medication, Abi is confused when Jay starts talking about Heathers murder, will she begin to suspect??

Meanwhile, after witnessing Phil and Shirley talking to the Police, a scared Ben makes his way to Ian's house. As we all know, Ian is already on the edge after being told by his Accountant that he needs to stop spending or he will lose everything, and on top of that he has got it into his head that Fiancé Mandy is having an affair with Phil Mitchell. When Ben turns up at Ian's house and begins rambling, Ian is convinced that Ben is talking about Phil and Mandy's affair, but when Ben tells him that he killed Heather, Ian can't believe what his little brother is saying.

Unable to take in Ben's murder confession, Ian heads over to the allotments. Ben tracks him down and tries to explain that it was an accident. But Ian is in shock and can't handle the situation. With Ian already on the edge, will he shop his brother to the police for the second time this year??

Phil spots Ben driving off with Ian and follows them. When they arrive outside the Police station, Phil discovers that Ben has confessed all to Ian and tries his best to persuade Ian that no good will come from handing Ben in to the police. However Ian is on the edge, and tells Phil that Heather deserves justice and that Ben should be punished for what he has done. While Phil and Ian are in the middle of an argument, Ben begins to have a panic attack and makes his way out of the car. As Phil and Ian look on, Ben shouts at them to shut up about it, he then looks at the entrance to the police station, realising things will never be over until he tells the truth. But with Phil and Jay both in the frame as well, Ben won't get much say in the matter.

The next day, Phil asks Jay to return home promising that things will be ok now Shirley has moved back in. Jay initially refuses but he later changes his mind and joins the family for a meal at the Arghee Bhajee. Elsewhere Ian is behaving erratically, with the stress of the wedding, debts mounting and Bens confession all on his mind. Phil worries that Ian is about to crumble, and makes it clear what will happen if he dares to open his mouth about Bens confession.

Later Lucy worries, when her Dad goes missing, and nobody seems to knows where he is. But when Phil offers to help out by paying off some of Ian's debts, a suspicious Ben and Jay, wonder if Phil has something to do with Ian's disappearance. However when Lucy gets told a possible whereabouts for her Dad, she sets of to find him along with Phil and Ben. But when they arrive at the place in question, they are stunned at whom they find there.

It has been widely reported that Letitia Dean (Sharon Watts) will be returning to Eastenders in May 2012, could she be staying nearby? It would make sense for it to be Sharon that they find, as Lucy and Ben both know Sharon, and Phil has a big history with her. As well as that, Ian and Sharon grew up together and have always remained good friends. We already know they have kept in touch since her departure from the square, so could this be who Ian has run to in his hour of need? One things for sure if it is Sharon Watts, it won't be long before she gets to the bottom of what's been going on. Will Sharon be the person who brings Ben Mitchell down??