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Gwen Elisabeth Cooper was a Cardiff Police Constable before she joined Torchwood 3.
History
Prior to joining Torchwood
Gwen's family has been established in Cardiff since the 19th century. This and/or, as the Doctor explained the influence of the space-time rift located in Cardiff might explain her physical resemblance to Gwyneth, who died in 1896 (DW: Journey's End)
Gwen Cooper was born in 16th August, 1978 to Geraint and Mary Cooper. (At the time of Gwen's marriage to Rhys, they lived in Swansea.) (TW: Children of Earth, Something Borrowed) Prior to going out with boyfriend Rhys, whom she met in college, Gwen fought off the romantic attention of police partner Andy Davidson (TW: Adrift) and had a boyfriend named Bruce. Rhys fancied her as soon as he saw her because of her nice personality and her good looks. Rhys often made jokes during the stupidest time, Gwen referred to this as "Rhysing around". (TW: Adam) Rhys and Gwen came to live together, and while Gwen's work in Torchwood brought occasionally alien phenomena to Rhys's attention, Rhys did not believe in aliens, instead concluding terrorists had caused hallucinations by putting psychotropics in the water supply. (TW: Everything Changes)
Gwen was a uniformed police constable when she was called in on a murder scene, only to encounter a mysterious team of individuals known only as "Torchwood". She got involved when she stumbled across the team investigating one of several murders covertly carried out by one of Torchwood's own personnel, the devious Suzie Costello. She also witnessed the killing of a hospital porter by a Weevil, an obviously non-human being. Captain Jack Harkness took her on a tour of the Hub, after which he dosed her with retcon, a drug that induces selective amnesia, but she still managed to make notes on her meeting with the team. Subsequently, she joined Torchwood at the invitation of Captain Jack Harkness, who valued her empathetic nature and ability to see beyond the facts. Alone of all the team at that time, because she saw Costello shoot him point-blank in the head and come back to life, she knew that Jack could die and then return. (TW: Everything Changes)
Life in Torchwood
Early career
Gwen was taught to use guns by Jack, and there appeared to be some sexual tension, but any developing feelings were apparently negated when she returned home and the "ghost machine" showed her memories of her relationship with Rhys. (TW: Ghost Machine) She and another team member, Owen Harper kissed passionately whilst hiding from the partially cyber-converted Lisa Hallett. (TW: Cyberwoman) Following his seduction of her (TW: Countrycide), Owen and Gwen embarked upon a brief affair, largely because she couldn't share her supernatural and extraterrestrial experiences with her boyfriend, Rhys, even though she does care for him.
Gwen was the only one to hear the ghost of Eugene Jones (although she didn't know that it was him at the time). (TW: Random Shoes)
When Gwen received a precognitive vision of Rhys' death by stabbing that her boyfriend would die, she rendered him unconscious with a stun gun and locked him up in the confinement area beneath the Hub, to no avail as Bilis Manger simply teleported in and stabbed him to death. She took part in a coup with Owen to overthrow Jack and open the Cardiff Rift, believing it would resurrect Rhys. She was ecstatic when Rhys returned to life, the previous event having apparently "un-happened", but when Jack battled with Abaddon (who the rift had released) and he remained dead for days, Gwen stayed by his side for the entire time, unwavering in her belief in him, before he is finally resurrected after she kissed his dead lips. A few minutes afterward, Jack vanished, having left the team behind to chase after the Doctor's TARDIS (TW: End of Days)
Jack's disappearance
After Jack's disappearance she, along with the rest of the team, was despatched on a "wild goose chase" to the Himalayas by Mr. Saxon. (DW: The Sound of Drums)
- Gwen's fate during the Year That Never Was remains yet to be revealed.
Gwen took over as team leader upon their return to Wales. Rhys proposed to her and she accepted. (TW: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)
Reunion
Just as suddenly as he had vanished, Jack re-appeared and once more took over Torchwood. (TW: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) Following a case which involved Rhys' hauling company and his attempt to investigate, Gwen came clean about the true nature of her work for Torchwood. (TW: Meat)
When Adam Smith arrived at Torchwood, he inserted himself into Gwen's memory and she forgot about Rhys. When she came home, he was in the flat and she called Jack thinking he was a mad man who had broken into her flat. She remembered him after he refreshed her memory of how they met. (TW: Adam)
As Gwen was preparing for her marriage to Rhys, she was bitten by a Nostrovite, which transferred the egg of its young into her body, causing her to wake up pregnant on her wedding day. Rhys eventually saved her by using the Singularity Scalpel to remove the egg from her, while Jack destroyed the mother Nostrovite. She and Rhys were married shortly thereafter, though the guests' memories were retconned to forget the alien involvement. (TW: Something Borrowed) Though she and Rhys were now married, she still went by her maiden name of Gwen Cooper. (TWN: SkyPoint; DW: Journey's End)
She was upset when Andy Davidson (Her former police partner) told her she had become alienated since she joined Torchwood. Angry at this she set out trying to unlock the mystery of the rift despite Jack's opposition. (TW: Adrift)
When signs of an unidentified life-signs were detected from a warehouse, the rest of the team went to investigate, while Gwen got delayed and avoided an explosion that trapped the others. Together with Rhys, who had given her a lift, she managed to rescue the others and discovered that Captain John Hart was responsible. (TW: Fragments)
With Rift activity being detected in three locations in Cardiff, Gwen went to police headquarters, discovering that the Weevils had killed four of the senior police officers. Later, Gwen witnesses the detonation of 15 bombs, planted by John and Jacks brother, Gray, at strategic locations around Cardiff, causing mayhem. She takes command of the confused police officers and helps to subdue the Weevils and makes her way to the Hub, but is trapped in the Weevil cage by Gray. She is rescued by Jack and returns to the control room but is too late to help Tosh, who was shot and killed by Gray. Gwen is unsure whether she can continue but Jack convinces her and Ianto can go on till the end (TW: Exit Wounds)
During the Medusa Cascade incicdent
Gwen was present at the Hub when Earth was moved to the Medusa Cascade and invaded by the Daleks and helped out with contacting the Doctor. After Jack left to help the Doctor, Ianto and Gwen tried to hold off a Dalek invading the Hub with conventional weaponry even though she knew they wouldn't work. As she told Ianto, "I'm going down fighting, like Owen, like Tosh. How about you?" (DW: The Stolen Earth). They survived thanks to Tosh's time lock defense system. She was able to help the Doctor to use the Rift to return the Earth to it original position. (DW: Journey's End)
Children of Earth
At the time when all the children stopped Gwen began to investigate this. She found a man in a Phyciatric Hospital had also displayed the same signs. She then went to meet him she found out by him that she was pregnant as he was phychic. She later back at the hub scanned herself and found that this was true. Jack then ran in and he scanned himself revealing he had a bomb in his stomach. She and Ianto abandoned the hub as it exploded. (TW: Day One)
Alternate Realities
Donna's World
If Donna Noble had turned right, instead of left, stopping herself from ever meeting and saving the Doctor; Gwen would have still joined Torchwood, she and Ianto Jones would have sacrificed their lives to save the Earth from the Sontarans' plan involving Atmos. (DW: Turn Left)
Personality
As a Torchwood operative she provided an essential foil to Captain Jack, although her personal agendas sometimes interfered with her duties. Her actions and decisions can be guided by her desire to protect her live-in boyfriend (and later husband), Rhys. She had a brief, disruptive affair with another operative, Owen Harper.
Key Life Events
- Whilst a serving Police Officer, Gwen met Michael Bellini. (TWN: Trace Memory)
- Joins Torchwood Three (TW: Everything Changes)
- Has an affair with James Mayer. (TWN: Border Princes)
- Has an affair with Owen (TW: Countrycide to Out of Time)
- Takes command of Torchwood Three in Jack Harkness' absence. (Mentioned TW: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)
- Decides to let her fiancee Rhys Williams know about what Torchwood really is (TW: Meat)
- Marries Rhys Williams. (TW: Something Borrowed)
- Faces a Dalek (DW: The Stolen Earth)
- Discovers that the Time-lock was finished. However she is then trapped inside due to the fact that if the Time-Lock was to be unlocked the Dalek outside would get in. (DW: Journey's End)
Behind the Scenes
- Eve Myles initially appeared on Doctor Who as Gwyneth in the 2005 episode The Unquiet Dead. When she was later cast as Gwen Cooper, Russell T Davies denied that the two characters were related, just that they had similar names and the same actress. In the fourth season finale, Journey's End The Doctor and Rose Tyler notice the resemblance between Gwen and Gwyneth and Gwen stating her family ties dating back to the 19th Century. Russell T Davies explains it as "It's not familial as we understand it. There's no blood tie. Spatial genetic multiplicity means an echo and repetition of physical traits across a Time Rift."
- Gwen did not take a married name and continues to be identified as Gwen Cooper on both Torchwood and Doctor Who, reportedly at the request of Myles.