Benjamin "Ben" Hope, portrayed by Sebastian Croft, is an antagonist in Solitaire and Heartstopper.
Personality
Ben is portrayed as snarky, cunning, manipulative, and violent, with his nature stemming from being a closeted bisexual. When overhearing his classmate, Charlie Spring, was gay and outed, Ben pounced on Charlie's vulnerability by calling him "brave", before kissing him and having him in a secret relationship under his dictation on where they met to make out. Any time Charlie messed up in the slightest, he scolded Charlie, and also threatened him not to tell anyone about their relationship. When Charlie discovered Ben had a girlfriend, he ended their relationship via text. The following confrontation turned violent, with Ben pressing Charlie against the wall and began to sexually assault him by kissing him without his permission It wasn't until Nick Nelson intervened that stopped him by pushing him off of Charlie.
In the television series, when observing Charlie and Nick holding hands in the cinema, Ben confronted Charlie in the parking lot, saying that no one would date anyone as "pathetic" as him, and the only reason Ben showed any interest was because he felt bad for him. On their school's Sports Day, after Charlie beat Ben in a race, Charlie finally put Ben in his place. When Ben attempted to threaten to tell people about Charlie's relationship with Nick, Charlie retaliated by asking if he would like it if he told people about him and Ben's relationship. As Ben became tearful and angry, Charlie told Ben though he was sympathetic to not understanding his sexuality, that didn't justify spreading his low self-esteem, and that he needed to leave him alone.
In Solitaire, Ben goes through on his violent behavior by assaulting Charlie, believing he had outed him. After Nick and several other classmates respectively beat Ben up in revenge for his bullying, he returns to school with a bruised face. During the assembly, he looks directly at Tori with a sad look as if he is about to cry.
Relationships
He used to hook up in between classes with Charlie, who thought that they were going to have a serious relationship. This ended when Charlie realised he was having a girlfriend on the side. Later, he starts a relationship with Becky, which eventually ends her friendship with Tori after Ben is seen beating Charlie up.
Trivia
- The details of Ben and Charlie's relationship were originally meant to be revealed in Solitaire, but the scene got removed from editing. Instead, this is revealed in Heartstopper.
- His MBTI type is ENTP/The Debater.
- His Hogwarts house is Slytherin.[1]
- Alice Oseman states in the Heartstopper Yearbook that although they'd like to imagine Ben becoming a better person in the future, they don't believe Charlie has to see that path he takes or forgive him for his actions.
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