text: rhys williams ( torchwood ) rhys alun williams , portrayed by kai owen , is a fictional character in the bbc television programme torchwood , a spin - off from the long - running series doctor who . the character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co - habiting boyfriend of principal character gwen cooper . initially a recurring character , rhys ' role is increased after the second series ; actor kai owen is given star billing from the show 's third series — a five - part serial subtitled torchwood : children of earth — onwards . the character has gone on to appear in expanded universe material such as the torchwood novels and audiobooks , comic books and radio plays . throughout the first series ( 2006 ) , rhys is initially unaware of gwen 's vocation as a torchwood agent , believing her to work in generic special forces . gwen 's relationship with rhys languishes while she is unable to communicate fully with him , but in the early part of series two ( 2008 ) he discovers the truth , and from thereon in their relationship is revitalised ; the two enter a marriage based on honesty later in the series . in the third series ( 2009 ) rhys becomes directly involved in assisting the torchwood team in lieu of a fourth team member . in the show 's fourth series — a 2011 bbc / starz co - production — rhys again finds himself having to assist torchwood , though he would rather live a domestic life with gwen and their daughter anwen . the original intention of the writers had been to kill off rhys at the end of the first series , but series creator russell t davies found it necessary to keep the show grounded through rhys as gwen evolved as a character . producer richard stokes stated that " without him , it simply becomes a sci - fi show about sci - fi people , running around and hunting aliens . " following from the first series the production team decided to make rhys less of a " sap " whilst continuing to use him as a contrast to torchwood 's activities and its charismatic leader jack harkness . whilst early response to the character was mixed — the character was parodied as " barry backstory " — subsequent reviews praised the character 's larger role in later episodes . appearances television rhys is introduced in the first episode of the series ( 2006 ) as the unspectacular boyfriend of police constable gwen cooper ( eve myles ) . when gwen takes a new job with the torchwood institute 's cardiff branch as an alien hunter , she is forced to keep it a secret . over the course of the first series rhys shows increasing irritation with gwen 's evasiveness and long hours , and her ease and readiness to lie to him . unknown to rhys , gwen establishes a sexual relationship with owen harper ( burn gorman ) to help herself deal with her secret double - life . she confesses the affair after it ends in " combat " but drugs rhys with an amnesia pill so he will not remember her confession . rhys is murdered by bilis manger ( murray melvin ) in " end of days " , but this event is erased from history after the torchwood team reset time by opening the space - time rift located in cardiff . the series two premiere ( 2008 ) establishes that rhys became engaged to gwen between the first and second series . after rhys becomes suspicious of her behaviour and her friendship with her boss captain jack ( john barrowman ) in " meat " , gwen reveals to him the truth about her responsibilities with torchwood . rhys then becomes involved in a mission to uncover and destroy an alien meat - trading racket , and ends up taking a bullet to protect gwen 's life . because she enjoys finally being able to be honest with rhys , gwen cannot bring herself to drug him for a second time , and so demands that jack allow rhys keep his memories of torchwood . rhys and gwen marry in the episode " something borrowed " . following the wedding , in the episode " adrift " , rhys brings up the issue of starting a family with gwen , though she dismisses the idea , arguing that it would be impossible to have children with her job . during the events of " fragments " and series finale " exit wounds " , rhys plays a particular role in the team 's campaign against the returned captain john hart ( james marsters ) and the insane gray ( lachlan nieboer ) , helping gwen rescue the others after they are caught in an exploding building and subsequently working with gwen 's former colleague andy davidson ( tom price ) to help keep the attacking alien weevils out of the police station . rhys is referenced , but does not appear onscreen , in the doctor who crossover episode " the stolen earth " ( 2008 ) ; gwen speaks to him over the phone during a global emergency . rhys becomes a main character in the third series of torchwood , a five - part miniseries called children of earth airing in 2009 . when aliens called the 456 announce their plans to visit to earth , the government attempts to assassinate torchwood to cover up a conspiracy . rhys becomes a fugitive from the government because of his marriage to gwen . the pair flee to london via cargo lorry and rhys is delighted to discover gwen is pregnant . he is with the torchwood team when they relocate to a london warehouse and takes a role in their mission , hiding with the recordings showing corruption within downing street . in the last episode of the series he returns to cardiff with gwen , and helps gwen do one last favour for her deceased coworker ianto ( gareth david - lloyd ) by helping his niece and nephew evade capture , and with them many other neighbourhood children . the series ' dénouement , set six months later , shows rhys still at gwen 's side , awaiting the arrival of their child . series four , miracle day ( 2011 ) , begins by showing rhys living in seclusion alongside gwen and their daughter , anwen . his rural idyll is shattered when cia agent rex matheson ( mekhi phifer ) jack and gwen to america — believing them to be connected to a phenomenon where humans can no longer die — whilst forcing rhys to stay in wales . with the aid of computer expert esther drummond ( alexa havins ) , gwen is able to establish communications with rhys in the episode " dead of night " . whilst on a mission in los angeles , gwen asks rhys to remove her father geraint ( william thomas ) from a hospital which she believes to be unsafe . rhys subsequently has geraint sent to an " overflow camp " , unaware that it contains a facility for burning the severely injured alive , and in " the categories of life " and " the middle men " has to go undercover to help rescue his father - in - law . after escaping from the facility with geraint , rhys is briefly held hostage in an attempt to force gwen to surrender jack harkness , but is rescued by andy and his team . in " the gathering " , rhys figures out the antipodal connection between buenos aires and shanghai , which directs the torchwood team to their final mission . because of rhys ' violent disposition towards murderer - paedophile oswald danes ( bill pullman ) , gwen fears that he may enact vigilante justice and so takes the latter to shanghai to protect her husband . in the series finale , rhys gains entry to the overflow camp where geraint has been recaptured in order to sit by his side as " miracle day " ends and death is restored . after esther 's funeral , he is hopeful that jack will not reform torchwood . literature rhys appears in all three torchwood novels in the first wave published by bbc books in january 2007 , set between episodes of torchwood series one . these novels expand on the difficult period in gwen and rhys ' relationship — whilst his appearances in another life , and border princes , are relatively minor , he has a more significant role in slow decay , where he unwittingly brings himself into danger by taking an alien diet pill . reviewer patrick holm feels that the success of these novels lies in the fact that they help readers empathise with characters such as rhys . rhys makes cameo appearances in something in the water ( set between " kiss kiss bang bang " and " meat " ) and trace memory , and has a significant role in the twilight streets , ( released march 2008 ) which depicts an alternate future where gwen and rhys start a new torchwood to make a safe world for their son after the torchwood team are destroyed fighting sentient particles known as the dark . three more torchwood books were released in october 2008 in which rhys has an involved role . in pack animals rhys assists gwen in her investigation and becomes part of a car chase , skypoint sees them inadvertently discover an alien presence whilst and almost perfect , the first novel set after " exit wounds " , depicts rhys speed dating undercover . rhys makes further appearances in later torchwood novels bay of the dead , the house that jack built , and consequences , all set between " exit wounds " and children of earth . rhys appeared occasionally in the torchwood magazine comic strip during its publication between january 2008 and december 2010 . in part three of the serialised ten part comic rift war he aids gwen in her torchwood duties by helping care for an infant alien left stranded in cardiff . a scene in gareth david - lloyd 's comic " shrouded " , published in may 2010 , includes a scene set after children in earth which shows gwen cradling her young child ; as gwen is busy , rhys is required to team up with captain john hart to save the timeline . non - fiction tie - in the torchwood archives gives an " insider 's look " into the torchwood world , including gwen 's domestic life with rhys . the book includes unpublished photographs of gwen and rhys used as set dressing in the tv series and also provides some background information on rhys ' friends and his working life . audio drama rhys makes an appearance in the torchwood radio play " the dead line " ( 2009 ) , where he assists gwen with her investigations into the phone - line induced comas . he also has a central role investigating a mystery in the audio book ghost train ( 2011 ) , read by kai owen . with gwen dead and jack missing rhys is left alone to figure out the strange goings on involving cargo trains . rhys also appears in " the devil and miss carew " ( 2011 ) , one of three additional radio plays set between " exit wounds " and children of earth , which shows his reaction to the death of his elderly uncle bryn . in this play rhys rescues gwen from a woman under the influence of a malevolent devil like entity . characterisation rhys is a " down to earth trucker " , who functions as gwen cooper 's normality base . at the start of the series he believes alien interference to be a result of hallucinations induced by psychotropic drugs in the water supply and that his girlfriend 's job is nothing more unusual than generic " special ops " . writer stephen james walker feels that rhys " originally didn 't look to have much to him initially but really came into his own as series one progressed " , attributing this to the " spot - on performance of the perfectly cast kai owen . " the original intention of the writers had been for rhys to die at the end of series one , but richard stokes explains that it was overruled by show creator russell t davies , who felt that without rhys , the show 's main link to the real world would be lost . executive producer julie gardner expands on this by stating that " it 's a show where you 've got to contrast the ordinary everyday with the extraordinary and ( with ) gwen going home to rhys and then going to work in an underground secret base ... it 's right to have that balance . " actor kai owen attributes part of his character 's success to his on - screen rapport with actress eve myles . after reprisal from death , davies felt further development was necessary for the character to continue as part of the drama ; one of the first decisions the production team made was that " we can 't make this guy look like a sap any longer . he 's got to be made aware of what 's going on . " the events of the episode " meat " , in which rhys learns the real nature of gwen 's job , are seen by davies as a " rite of passage " for the couple . director colin teague highlights rhys ' patience in relation to gwen noting that " he puts up with an awful lot from his wife to be " . the second series also explores rhys 's insecurities and jealousies towards series protagonist captain jack harkness , for whom a mutual sexual tension with gwen was evident in the first series . both stephen james walker and episode writer catherine tregenna felt that " the triangle of relationships between rhys , gwen and jack " comprise " the most interesting narrative territory explored in ' meat ' " . although actor kai owen feels that " rhys will always have a little bit of a gripe about jack " , he concedes that " he respects him and he 'll like him for looking after gwen " . walker comments favourably on the interaction between jack and rhys in " meat " in both its antagonistic and comedic forms , citing the scene in the truck where rhys questions jack as particularly effective . the two function as unusual literary foils for one another , insofar as their relationships with gwen are concerned . in her critical essay gwen 's evil stepmother : concerning gloves and magic slippers , valerie estelle frankel compares rhys to jack , likening the former to a " sweet , kind handsome prince " and the latter to a " compelling trickster . " whilst eve myles feels that " jack highlights how ordinary rhys is " , she states that it is precisely this ordinariness which makes rhys a benefit to gwen 's strength of character . the plot of children of earth results in rhys becoming more directly involved with the torchwood team 's activities , and actor kai owen also receives star billing for the first time . whilst gwen by the third series has become a more militant character , rhys retains his everyman status and takes on the role of audience surrogate ; press material describes him as " the ordinary guy in the street " and " the normal person 's eyes and ears " who " says what he thinks about the situations torchwood find themselves in , bringing the reality back to them " . paul collins comments of the significance of rhys having the first dialogue in the serial , remarking that this is torchwood 's " determination to establish its domestic credentials before subverting them " . rhys becomes a reluctant hero ; kai owen states that he " would rather not get involved if he had the choice " , but when faced with the life - or - death situations in the serial " he doesn 't run away from it " because the character has " seen so many things " . this , in owen 's eyes , makes the rhys seen in children of earth a " very brave hero who has grown in stature " . rhys retains core character status for the fourth series , torchwood : miracle day . whilst kai owen explains that rhys will always be at the forefront of " gwen 's troubles or fights or adventures " because of his concern for her , he remains unafraid to tell her when she has become too consumed by her job . davies links the relationship between gwen and rhys in the fourth series to the show 's continued exploration of human sexuality , stating that " open sexuality has to include everything " including " a husband / wife great big crime - fighting team ... happily in love " . reception rhys ' incidental role in the series was initially mocked in the register 's 2006 one - off torchwood parody under torch wood ( in the style of dylan thomas ' under milk wood ) , in which he is described as " barry backstory , who is dreaming of future episodes where he gets a bigger part . " however , as the character has been developed on screen and given a bigger role , he has attracted more positive commentary from reviewers . ben rawson - jones of digital spy describes his role in the episode " meat " as " forming a clever contrast with the activities of torchwood " . he praised the verisimilitude of rhys ' relationship with gwen , describing their domestic argument as " a unique spin on the kitchen sink melodrama usually seen in eastenders " which delivers " a real impact and emotional honesty due to the wonderfully earnest performances from kai owen and eve myles " . jack kibble - white of den of geek states that " in the main having rhys run alongside captain jack and the rest worked well " and he cites the character 's wedding to gwen as a series highlight . tv squad 's jason hughes feels that the character 's marriage to gwen is " handled in a painfully honest way " and serves as " a true definition of " love " written with subtlety and perfection " . alan stanley blair enjoyed the rapport between owen and price ( pc andy ) in the episode " exit wounds " stating , that it " was also an interesting dynamic " and that the two " could potentially carry their own sitcom " , a view corroborated by afterelton 's steven frank . dan martin of the guardian singles out the scene where gwen and rhys become stowaways in children of earth as " just lovely " and " a credit to both actors , particularly kai owen , who has finally made rhys likable " , whilst ign writer asham haque also feels that rhys ' " meatier role " provides " some great sequences " for the couple . rawson - jones speaks favourably on owen 's role in the overall ensemble opining that he , along with barrowman , myles and david - lloyd managed to guide the audience through the serial with " panache and verve " . the chicago tribune 's maureen ryan feels that the initiated rhys is key to the show , and is a " very enjoyable character " , describing his appeal to government pa lois habiba to pay for his and gwen 's dinner as " priceless " . speaking of the show 's fourth series premiere , simon brew highlights the central returning trio of barrowman , myles and owen as the show 's most engaging actors , and further describes owen 's performance as mixing " humour with an earnest , and a real sense of drive " .