Ianto Jones was a member of the Torchwood 3, initially serving as more a "support man" or "tea boy" but later taking a more active role in missions.
Biography
Early life
Ianto was born on 19th August 1983. (TW: Fragments) He was from Cardiff. (TW:From Out of the Rain) Ianto's father, was a master tailor and he had a shop in Cardiff (TW:Something Borrowed); he enjoyed taking his Ianto to the cinema (TW: From Out of the Rain)
A decent if not exceptionally gifted student, Ianto took a series of temporary jobs after university, eventually ending up a Junior Researcher at Torchwood 1. (TW: Fragments)
Torchwood operative
Torchwood 1
For some time prior to the Battle of Canary Wharf, Ianto worked in Torchwood 1, based in Canary Wharf, London. During the Battle of Canary Wharf, as Cybermen looked for reinforcements to fight off the Daleks, Ianto's girlfriend Lisa Hallett was partly converted into a Cyberman. Hoping that the cyber-conversion process could be reversed, Ianto smuggled Lisa to Torchwood Three, hiding her in the basement, until a "cure" for the partial cyber-conversion could be found. (TW: Cyberwoman)
Torchwood 3
Back in his native Cardiff, Ianto tracked down Jack Harkness to try to find work with Torchwood 3. Despite Harkness' initial reluctance, Ianto so impressed Jack during the capture of a stray pteranodon that he was eventually offered a job. (TW: Fragments)
- Jack had, at this time, already recruited Suzie Costello, Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato, though not Gwen Cooper.
Understaffed and poorly understood, Torchwood 3 was an ideal place to hide a partially-converted cyberwoman. Ianto smuggled Lisa Hallett into an unused basement, still attached to a cyber-conversion unit, which now acted as her life support. Unfortunately, Lisa's Cyberman conditioning slowly won over her humanity. She laid siege to the Hub from inside and killed several--including an innocent pizza delivery girl whose body she appropriated, before being killed. (TW: Cyberwoman).
The others appear at this time to have taken the quietly efficient Ianto for granted; they pay little attention to him before the mayhem starts. Ianto was "temporarily suspended from active duty" but returned to work four weeks later, with Jack's tacit approval. ("The Captain's Blog" BBCAmerica)[1]
Ianto began to take a more active role in field work, though he still disliked the day-to-day Torchwood operations: he once described to Toshiko Sato his inability to comprehend the adrenaline rush she and the other Torchwood members shared in the face of danger. (TW: Countrycide)
With both Jack and Tosh both temporarily trapped in 1941 Ianto and Owen sparred for leadership of the team, although Owen asserted that, with Suzie Costello dead, he was now second-in-command. However, Ianto displayed authority in Jack's absence that Owen was not aware he had, and even went as far as to shoot Owen in the shoulder to prevent him using the Rift Manipulator. (TW: Captain Jack Harkness)
During the months that Jack was gone, Ianto, along with the rest of the Torchwood 3, was dispatched on a "wild goose chase" to the Himalayas by Mr. Saxon. (DW: The Sound of Drums)
Ianto kept a paper diary, which he used to write down interesting Rift activity as well as more personal concerns. When he confronted Adam Smith about his role in the Torchwood team, Adam forcibly gave Ianto false memories of killing three women, which affected him deeply. Ianto strangely appeared to have more resistance to Adam than the others though this may be because he caught on to Adam. When he did succumb to Adam's influence it would appear has with rest of the team dormant or unused parts of his psyche where awakened; in Ianto's case a darker more malevolent side of his personality was awoken that enjoyed killing and violence. Ianto was eventually able to rid himself of these memories when Jack used retcon on the team in order to purge out Adam's influence. (TW: Adam)
When the Earth was stolen by Davros and the New Dalek Empire and transported to the Medusa Cascade. Ianto, Gwen, and Jack, with help from alien supercomputer Mr Smith, were able to use the Rift Manipulator to boost the signal of Martha Jones' superphone and enable her to contact the Doctor. Jack obtains the missing digit of a code for his Time Agency wrist strap and teleports away from the Hub to meet with the Doctor. After he had left, Gwen and Ianto are confronted by a Dalek entering the Hub and open fire with machine guns, vowing to die fighting. (DW: The Stolen Earth) This proved unnecessary as a time-lock, devised by Tosh before her death protected them. Eventually the Dalek was destroyed along with the rest of its race by the New Doctor and Ianto and Gwen helped tow Earth back to where it belonged by sending the Rift power to the TARDIS after being contacted by the Doctor.
Duties
Ianto acted to support the main team. He staffed the mock tourist information booth located above the Hub and in general acted to "clean up their shit... no questions asked". (TW: Cyberwoman) For example, he hacked into Gwen Cooper's computer and erased a document containing information about Torchwood. (TW: Everything Changes) Though not precisely one of his duties, he also kept a detailed journal of day-to-day operations (TW: Adam)
Relationships
Relationship with Lisa Hallett
As mentioned above, Ianto and Lisa had a close relationship. Pain over her death still lingered later (TW: Countrycide) He explained he would not use a second resurrection gauntlet. (TW: They Keep Killing Suzie) An apparition of Lisa, in her Human form, convinced Ianto to side with Owen against Jack and open the Rift. (TW: End of Days) Lisa's death affected Ianto deeply. He promised that if he ever got the chance he would leave Jack for dead. The two men would later developed a sexual and romantic relationship. (source?)
Relationship with Jack Harkness
In an attempt to show he has put the incident behind him, Jack tried to be friendly and even patted Ianto on the back. (TW: Small Worlds) Although the conversation about the teams' last kisses reveals that there is still some lingering tension between the two over the incident. (TW: Countrycide)
It was hinted that Ianto might be having a sexual relationship with Jack. This was supported by his instant messenger conversation between with Jack that suggested that like teammates Jack, Toshiko and possibly Owen and Gwen, Ianto was bisexual. (WEB: Torchwood website) Gwen catches onto the relationship and Ianto explicitly refers to being bisexual. (TWN: The Twilight Streets)
Owen made remarks about the sexual nature of Ianto and Jack's relationship and, after believing Jack was dead, a distraught Ianto breathed in the scent of his coat. The two kissed upon reunion. (TW: Captain Jack Harkness, End of Days)
When Jack returned to the Hub, he asked Ianto out on a date, which Ianto accepted. This is followed by another kiss between the pair. (TW: To the Last Man). The existence of the relationship was confirmed verbally in a conversation Ianto has with Martha Jones (TW: Reset) and in another conversation Ianto has with Owen Harper (TW: A Day in the Death). The first public display of Ianto and Jack's relationship was when they dance together at Gwen's wedding. (TW: Something Borrowed)
Also, in (TW: "Adrift") Gwen accidentally walks in on Jack and Ianto in a decidedly sexual scene when she stormed into Jack's office, angry about the secrets Jack was keeping from her. After their conversation, Jack calls Ianto back into his office to finish what they started. Later, he expresses a little jealousy when Jack mentions having learned about Project Indigo by meeting a soldier in a bar; Jack had to reassure Ianto that it was strictly business. (DW: The Stolen Earth)
Personality
When first introduced in the series Ianto was quite distant and reserved in the company of the others with a quiet and dutiful nature; similar to a typical butler. However, when the discovery of his girlfriend was made Ianto revealed a tormented and passionate side of himself that would do anything to help and save Lisa even if it destroyed him. His behaviour when being spoken to by Doctor Tanasaki about Torchwood one would suggest that there is some mental scaring from the incident has he quickly and abruptly changes the conversation.
When Tosh received the mind pendant from Mary she caught a glimpse in to his mind after Lisa's death revealing he was in complete turmoil over the issue but because of his withdrawn nature he couldn’t tell anyone.
As the show progresses, Ianto comes out of his shell a bit more, showing a quick and humorous wit, usually at serious moments. Yet despite this it is hinted there is a darker side within Ianto that he may not be fully aware of or able to control. This side was shown in Adam where unlike the rest of the team Ianto struggled with the mental alterations (possible because he was aware of Adam), switching between himself and a violent homicidal personality. The darker nature also appeared in Meat where he brutally attacked the heads of the plant and in one case, he spoke to the boss in a deeper angry voice saying "Pray they survive" before tasering him in the head.
Alternate Realities
Donna's World
In an alternate timeline in which Donna Noble never met the Doctor, Ianto died along with Gwen while trying to defeat the Sontaran invasion of Earth. (DW: Turn Left)
Behind the scenes
According to Russell T Davies in the January 2008 radio special Torchwood: All Access (released on CD with Lost Souls in September 2008), Ianto Jones' name is based on another character (Yanto Jones) created by Davies for another television production; Gareth David-Lloyd played that character, too.