EastEnders star Max Bowden has shared a sweet reunion with co-star Jamie Borthwick – and is sporting a new look too.

The actor bowed out of the soap as Ben Mitchell last year, and has remained close with Jamie, who plays Jay Brown.

Sharing a black-and-white selfie together on his Instagram Stories from a catch-up, Max is seen with a new moustache, and wrote: “We find each other anywhere @jamie_b10.”

Max’s final scenes as Ben aired in March 2024, and the actor has since gone on to star in a touring stage production of Birdsong, which follows star-crossed lovers in the wake of World War I.

The actor spoke last summer about the reasons for his departure, explaining that he experienced burnout after five years on the soap.

“The important thing was my time was ready. I was very tired, and like I said, I wasn’t me, I wasn’t,” he told YouTube’s The Lewis Nicholls Show. “The Max sat in front of you today was kind of a ghost, and they recognised that – I recognised that.”

He added: “I did nearly six hundred episodes in five years, which is a hell of a lot, and it was time for a rest. The character was tired, I was tired, they [the producers] were probably tired of me being tired.

“From an honest perspective, I think yeah, a lot of it was that I needed to go for a bit. I needed to go work on me, get myself back to a place of really good mental health, focus on healing and also be a dad.”

However, Max revealed that he was still in touch with producers and had discussed a potential return in the future.

Meanwhile, Jamie is currently in the middle of the Strictly Come Dancing Live UK Tour, having taken part in last year’s season of the BBC show.