Ben "Lofty" Chiltern is a fictional character from the BBC medical dramas Casualty and Holby City, played by actor Lee Mead.

The character's introduction sees him found to be living in Robyn Miller (Amanda Henderson) and Max Walker's (Jamie Davis) loft.

Lofty first appears in the series nineteen episode "Project Aurous", broadcast on 16 May 2017, when he joins the fictional Keller ward as a staff nurse.

"[9] Reza Moradi, the director of Lofty's first episode, described the character as "a sweet nature guy who has had a temporary bit of bad luck".

[4] Reporters writing for Inside Soap called the character a "hunky nurse",[5] "adorable",[13] a "hapless medic"[14] and a "beloved colleague".

[12] Executive producer Kent described Lofty as "the most adorable character" and compared him to nurse John "Abs" Denham (James Redmond), who was well-received during his tenure on the show.

[27] Mead thought that Lofty had an unconventional method of treating patients and opined that he resembles fictional detective Sherlock Holmes.

[5] Mead explained that Robyn is able to see that Lofty is a good person and so, as well as helping him receive a job, she offers him a place to live.

[11] In an early storyline, paramedic Kathleen "Dixie" Dixon (Jane Hazlegrove) asks Lofty to help reunite a patient with his estranged, terminally ill mother before she dies.

[34] As Lofty settles, clinical lead Connie Beauchamp (Amanda Mealing) forces him to return to work as the ED is over-capacity.

[33] The storyline begins in February 2016 when Lofty is challenged to run the ED in the absence of senior nurses Charlie Fairhead (Derek Thompson) and Rita Freeman (Chloe Howman).

[18] Mead also explained that Lofty needs "distance and time" to understand the events surrounding Diane's death and to decide whether he can return to the hospital and "confront those demons within himself".

[25] He told Tricia Martin of Total TV Guide that Lofty is scarred by the events and compared it to a marriage breakdown, commenting that "it's always there, but you have move forward — life goes on.

[40] Producers tried to persuade Mead to remain with the show and offered to extend his contract by a further two years, but he wanted to spend more time with his daughter as she grew older.

[20] Holby City is filmed at BBC Elstree Centre, which is a 45-minute journey from Mead's home and benefits him as he can continue to assist with the care of his daughter.

[48] Mead's move to Holby City was criticised by his former co-stars, Henderson and Crystal Yu (who portrays Lily Chao), who hoped he would reprise the role in Casualty.

[52] He arrives for a shift on Keller ward as an agency nurse and first appears straddling a patient whose heart has stopped, giving them CPR.

[20] Mead told Duncan Lindsay, a reporter for the Metro, that at time of bumping into Robyn, Lofty "keeps getting stuff wrong and he's on the brink of giving up again".

"[20] Mead told Laura-Jayne Tyler of Inside Soap that he had filmed a guest appearance in Casualty, which features Lofty attending the funeral of Caleb Knight (Richard Winsor), who was killed off in a recent episode.

[54] He told Victoria Wilson of What's on TV that they wanted to focus on the "matter of fact" aspect to the story and how the audience discover a new side of Lofty.

[55] In promotional interviews, Mead teased a plot twist in the storyline,[27] and in the episode, it emerges that Lofty and Lenny had a secret relationship.

Mead told Victoria Wilson of What's on TV that Lofty "freaks out a bit" over Dom's proposal, but understands that it is "a kind gesture".

[66] Lofty and Dom marry in a double wedding ceremony with Jason Haynes (Jules Robertson) and Greta Allinson (Zoe Croft).

The ceremony was created as a happier moment following a series of darker storylines and Harper called the wedding a "joyous episode celebrating love and commitment in all their diverse forms".

[69] It was confirmed in March 2019 that the marriage would suffer problems following Dom's discovery that he is adopted and consultant Ange Godard (Dawn Steele) is his biological mother.

[70] Mead was nominated for Favourite Newcomer at the 2014 TV Times Awards, but lost out to Emmerdale's Amelia Flanagan for her role as April Windsor.

[71] He was also nominated for Best Newcomer at the 20th National Television Awards in January 2015,[72] but lost out to EastEnders' Maddy Hill for her role as Nancy Carter.

[73] Lofty's pairing with Dom was nominated for Best Soap Couple at the 2018 Digital Spy Reader Awards; they came in eleventh place with 2.8% of the total votes.

[24] James Brinsford (Metro) was surprised when Mead joined the cast as a nurse rather than "the 'famous person who’s befallen a nasty accident' that brings to TV those people who you wondered what happened to.

[15] In May 2017, Mead told Dainty (Digital Spy) that he had received positive feedback on Twitter from fans of the character, commenting that "I just feel really fortunate that Lofty has connected with the public for the two years I did on Casualty.