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Ben Atkins Biography & Facts

Ben Atkins is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Brett Cousins. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 9 April 1997. He departed on 22 May 1998, before making a two-episode guest appearance the following month. Casting Upon graduating from Deakin University with a BA degree in Drama, Cousins took on a 50-word guest role on Neighbours as an Attendant in a scene where established character Billy Kennedy went bungee jumping. When the producers rang Cousins several months later to offer him the more substantial role of Ben Atkins he accepted. Cousins in an interview with TV Week, "I could hardly believe it when they rang and said I had the part, "It’s a big jolt, I’ve been used to leading a student’s life until now. But I enjoy it so much. I can get up at 5 am with a smile on my face, and sail into work every morning". Cousins became "a local hero" following his casting, as the show is filmed in his home city of Melbourne. Cousins developed a close bond with Ailsa Piper, who plays Ben's mother Ruth Wilkinson, and he described her as his surrogate mother. He explained, "When I got the part, everyone told me how vicious and cut-throat the TV industry was. But when I arrived at the studio on my first day, Ailsa ran up to me, gave me this huge hug and said 'Welcome!'. It was definitely a great start!" In a 1998 interview with The Weekly News, Cousins detailed how winning the role of Ben left him feeling under constant pressure. He found it difficult to cope with the fame and recognition. Development Following his arrival, Ben moves into Number 30 Ramsay Street and he hides a secret, which has something to do with Ruth Wilkinson (Piper). It was later revealed that Ruth was Ben's biological mother. Piper was surprised by the development, saying "I'll never forget the time they told me I was going to have a 21-year-old son and I'd been pregnant at 16. I'd been hiding it all this time." Piper liked that the storyline led to some "meaty scenes" between Ruth and Ben, and that another side to her character was finally shown. Cousins later explained that Ben's introductory storyline inspired a young female fan to get in contact with her real mother. He said, "It was very sobering to me to know that as an actor you can have that sort of impact on people's lives. I'm really moved by this girl's letters. They're a reminder to me that for every difficult thing that Neighbours brings you as a cast member, it brings 10 times more rewards." Ben's younger sister Caitlin Atkins (Emily Milburn) was later introduced to show. Caitlin causes various problems for Ben with her troublesome behaviour, such as making up stories about his childhood and spending a number of nights "out on the town." Cousins sympathised with his character, as he has two younger sisters himself. He used his experiences to aid his research for the scenes with Milburn. He also admitted there were "quite a few similarities to the Caitlin thing", but his sisters were not as bad as her. The last episode to air in Australia before the show's annual Christmas break saw Ben involved in "a horrific car smash" during a motor race. The stunt was the most expensive scene in the show's history at the time. Cousins thought it was a great end to the year, and was grateful that his stunt double took over during filming. As viewers were left with a cliffhanger, Cousins had to deal with people asking him what the outcome for Ben would be. He later visited the UK just as the same episode aired there, and had to deal with the same questions for a second time. Ben is left in a coma following the accident. After he wakes up, Ben is discharged from the hospital, but it takes time for him to fully recover and "piece his shattered life back together." While he was in the hospital, Ben was visited by a stranger, who Ruth realises is his father Geoff Burke (Andrew McKaige), the man who left her when she fell pregnant. Piper commented that Ruth wants to hit him, as he has never taken an interest in Ben until now. Ruth refuses to let Geoff tell Ben who he is, as she thinks Ben will relapse. The storyline marked Ben's departure from the show, as Cousins filmed his final scenes in April 1998. He leaves for Sydney with Geoff, but later returns to Erinsborough for Ruth and Philip Martin's (Ian Rawlings) wedding. Of his departure, Cousins stated "I was sad to leave the show. I've made some great friends, who I think I will stay close to for the rest of my life." Storylines Ben grows up in Adelaide with his parents and siblings Nick (Jason Crewes) and Caitlin. His interest in cars leads him to pursue a career as a mechanic. When Ben discovers he is adopted, he decides to try to find his real mother and leaves Adelaide for Erinsborough. Ben arrives in Ramsay Street after responding to an advertisement for the spare room at Number 30. He encounters his birth mother Ruth, when she literally runs into him after practising rollerblading. Ben soon discovers Ruth has two more children, his half-siblings Anne (Brooke Satchwell) and Lance Wilkinson (Andrew Bibby). After settling in, Ben makes several friends in the area. When Anne develops a crush on Ben, it puts a strain on her relationship with Billy Kennedy (Jesse Spencer). Ben realises he has to tell her the truth about being her half-brother even if it means hurting her. Anne refuses to believe it when Ben confesses. After Ben reveals the truth about his identity to Ruth, she explains that she was fifteen when she gave birth to him. She wanted to keep him, but her parents forced her to give him up for adoption. Ben understands this and Ruth and Lance are generally accepting of him, Anne however is slower to come around to idea and is still hurt by Ruth keeping the secret. Anne later relents after plans to move in with her father Bill (Ian Stanley Pearce) and his girlfriend fall through. Ben later takes a job working for Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver), who buys an old bus to use as a mobile restaurant. This is short-lived as the bus is later burned out by Jamie-Lee Duggan (Josephine Clark) leaving Ben out of work. However, Lou buys a local garage and asks Ben if he wants a partnership in the business. Ben accepts but later has seconds thoughts when Lou begins treating him more like an employee than a partner. Lou's friend, Philip, who is dating Ruth, comes up with a solution that sees Lou and Ben have a 49% share apiece and he looks after the other 2%. After Ben overhears a telephone conversation between housemate Lisa Elliot (Kate Straub) and her mother, he mistakenly believes she is in love with him and on the night of her leaving party, he kisses her, much to her surprise. Lisa, flattered, explains she was referring to his mechanical skills and tells him she would be interested in a relationship, if she was not about to leave. Ben then falls for Angela Quinton (Fiona McGregor), whom he met at a night club. Within days, he fixes Angela's car f.... Discover the Ben Atkins popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Ben Atkins books.