In 2018, the character was revisited when Sienna gets a stalker and suspects that it is Ben, which led to the introduction of his son Josh Bradley (Rupert Hill).

"[6] In an introductory Hollyoaks video promoting the character, Richards described Ben as an "all-round nice guy", "dependable", "caring" and a "top bloke" that someone would want to get a drink with.

[4] Upon Ben's introduction, it is revealed that Ben used to work with long-running character Jack Osborne (Jimmy McKenna), and Richards revealed that future plots would explore their friendship, and that he had filmed some "really good stuff" with McKenna and Ashley Taylor Dawson, who plays Jack's son Darren Osborne.

"[5] Describing Ben, Passey called him "the hot new police officer on the scene" and noted how people were "waiting to see" if he would save "from herself".

[10] Sophie Dainty from Digital Spy wrote that it was "clear" that Sienna has "romance on her mind", but questioned whether Ben could be hiding something.

[8] Richards was not sure if the pairing was a "healthy match" but believed that Ben has a "bit of a hero complex" and feels like he needs to save people, adding, "If there's any woman with a broken wing, that means he has to come in and fix it.

[6] Richards revealed that the first "bit of tension" between the couple would occur when Ben meets Sienna's controlling father, Patrick Blake (Jeremy Sheffield).

[6] In the storyline, Ben and Sienna are "left red-faced" when Patrick returns from his holiday with Theresa McQueen (Jorgie Porter) and finds them getting intimate on the sofa.

[14][15] It transpires that Carly is in witness protection due to "trouble" from a drug dealer Ashley Davidson (Kierston Wareing), who she is hiding from.

[14][15] Wise was happy to be on the soap as she got to work with "lovely" Richards, and she explained that Carly's "troubled past and addiction to drugs" has resulted in her being "watchful eye of her dad, Ben".

[15] Sienna is "distraught" as she believes that Ben has left her for another woman, and when Patrick teases her over this, she meets up with Charles S'avage (Andrew Greenough), who comforts her.

[19] Swales-Dawson teased that this was the "biggest thing" she had done on the soap since joining, whilst Passey revealed that Nico's behaviour after this would start to "really scare" Sienna.

[16] Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy called Trevor's link to Ashley the "saving grace" of Sienna and Nico, who are "desperate" to cover up the truth.

[16] Richards called the story very "Shakespearean" and teased that there would be connections to Othello due to Ben's closeness to a person who is "turning the screws and being the puppetmaster".

[20] The pair remain enemies and Ben even "brutally" attacks and badly injures Trevor, which causes the latter to develop post-traumatic stress and install new security, as he is worried about his safety.

[21] Richards explained that Ben is already at his "wits end" due to having to attend a disciplinary hearing after he did not pass on evidence relating to Trevor's case.

[21] Richards believed that Ben needed to focus on someone else in order to get over Carly's death, and teased that there would be stuff coming up that would make viewers "gasp".

[21] The actor added: "Although Ben is a good guy at heart, he's making the wrong choices for what he feels are the right reasons – and that will have serious repercussions.

[30] In the storyline, Nico commits her third murder when she stabs Trevor on his wedding day to Grace, as she wants revenge for his affair with Sienna that "tore" her family apart.

[35] Following the airing of the character's departure, Richards thanked the Hollyoaks cast and crew – in addition to viewers who had "left such nice comments" – on Twitter.

[3] In the aftermath, Nico is supposedly killed-off months later and her crimes were exposed, leading to Ben being released from prison off-screen.

[33] Josh also reveals that Ben has been going through a difficult time due to Sienna and Nico's actions and is taking drugs to numb his pain.

Ben is called into work to help identify Carly's body and is devastated and shocked to find out that his daughter is dead.

Trevor is then arrested for the hospital murders, which were actually committed by Lindsey Butterfield (Sophie Austin), and Ben tries to get rid of the evidence proving that he is innocent.

"As soon as Ben Bradley set his eyes on Sienna Blake, plenty of Chester residents and Hollyoaks viewers were begging him to run for the hills.

[8] Richards revealed in June 2015 that Sienna and Ben's pairing had received a "really positive" reaction from viewers, and there seemed to be a "lot of love" online for the couple.

[9] Laura Heffernan from Inside Soap noted how Ben was usually a "squeaky-clean cop" despite taking "drastic action" by almost shooting Trevor.

[20] They wrote that "poor old Ben's deductive skills have recently let him down in his obsessive quest to prove that Trevor is responsible for the death of his daughter Carly.

His keenness on Sienna and intention to officially adopt her loathsome daughter suggest that he hasn't always got the best judgement, and he has already made one attempt on Trevor's life.

"[36] She added that whilst Sienna had done some "pretty deplorable things" during her time on the soap, her "treatment of poor Ben Bradley was another matter altogether" due to cheating on him with Trevor and covering up Nico's murder of Carly.