a liking for partying and booze, but as he grew older he matured and changed his outlook in life. In his backstory, the character was only moderately successful academically, preferring to participate in sports. Then enlisted into the army aged eighteen and was accompanied by his friend Dave. Ben's skillset saw him quickly promoted to an army corporal, whereas Dave was happy to remain a lower rank. In his book, The who's who of soap operas, Anthony Hayward described Ben and Dave as growing apart as their interests changed. To help introduce Ben in the series, writers created friendship with fellow new character Grant Mitchell (Craig McLachlan). Howie explained that Ben and Dave's "arrival coincides with a local iron-man contest. Dave convinces his mate to take part in the competition and it develops into a head-on battle" with Grant. Ben soon falls in love with the town and leaves the army. Relationship with Carly Morris Writers created a romance story between Ben and established character Carly Morris (Sharyn Hodgson). Producers had invested much into making the romance a centric story, even planning their wedding before Ben had debuted on-screen. Howie told Brown that "their romance will be full-on, bigger than Ben Hur." McMahon told Divola that he and Hodgson worked hard to create the impression that their characters were in "love at first sight". Despite their instant attraction, it took a series of schemes created by Ben's friend Grant to get them to commit to a relationship. Ben soon proposed marriage to Carly but as Hayward noted, "it was to be a long and bumpy road to the altar." McMahon explained that Ben and Carly portray "all that pre-marriage trauma stuff" such as finding their first home and worrying about paying the rent. Ben's personality is a main factor of Carly's attraction. Hodgson described Ben as having "traditional values" and "stability". Carly admires these traits and feels ready to settle down with him. Ben and Carly marry and Hodgson predicted that their marriage would be successful because they "really do want what is best for each other". McMahon wanted the pair to settle down in "bliss" after they marry. He told Divola that he wished for them become as cattle farmers because he imagined them as better suited to a rural setting. The episodes that featured the build-up to their wedding captured "a huge amount of interest" from Home and