EastEnders star Max Bowden celebrated his birthday yesterday, managing to put on a smile after the difficult year he's been through.
The actor - who is widely recognised as Ben Mitchell on the BBC One soap - took to his Instagram story, sharing snaps with his 190k followers as he celebrated turning 27.
The actor shared a pouty picture of him nestled between two balloons spelling out his age, alongside: "27 and still pouting!"
The Sun reports that fans were left shocked by his age, with the publication claiming one said: "I can't believe Max is 27 - he looks so much younger."
Another reportedly posted: "Wow 27 already, he doesn't look a day over 24."
This comes just days after he shared a beaming snap with his gorgeous girlfriend Roisin Buckle as they celebrated Christmas together.
Roisin donned a mustard jumper and glossy red lip, with her blonde hair pushed behind her ears while Max opted for a striped black and white jumper.
He captioned the picture: "Christmas over for another year. Looking forward to the new year especially after this one. Had a blinder with Rodderz."
Max turned off comments for the post, tagging his girlfriend who has a private Instagram account.
Max recently made headlines as the BBC crew have rallied behind him offering support after the heartbreaking deaths of three of his friends.
He's admitted that he "isn't doing great", with the team behind the scenes at his work trying to make his days a little less hard to handle.
Last month he took to his Instagram Stories to share a snap of a card he received from the costume department at EastEnders.
The card read: "Hey Max, just wanted to say we know you're not great at the moment, but we are always here if you need a rant or a cry.
"Keep doing your best because we think you're great."
The actor seemed moved by the gesture, captioning the picture: "I work with some amazing people."
The message was signed with love by Annie, Inca, Becky and Meg from the costume department.
He went on to share a devastating picture of a gift his late best friend Maxwell Thompson had given him in order to ask him to be best man at a wedding that was supposed to take place in April of this year.
Maxwell sadly died in September, with the devastated actor sharing a moving tribute to his friend.
He wrote: "Thank you for being my best friend for 15 years, for walking every avenue with me, entering into battle with me every time, lighting up my every minute of every day, and for loving me like you did.
"I will never have a better friend, and I will never love a man so much in my life. You were my soulmate, my rock, my ride or die, my everything - and I am so grateful that I got to call you my best friend. I am so so lucky."
Just months before the tragic death, his close friend Luke Goodings sadly passed away in June.
In February, his friend Terry Mills died after battling with Covid in a hospital in Cancun, Mexico.
Max said that he is looking forward to the New Year after how difficult 2021 has been for him.
