Gwen Cooper

Gwen Cooper is a fictional law enforcement agent and one of the main characters on the BBC science fiction television series Torchwood. Played by actress Eve Myles, she was introduced in the pilot episode of the series, "Everything Changes", and has appeared in every episode of the program.

Overview
Gwen is introduced as an audience surrogate, much like the typical "companion" character in Doctor Who. The series focuses on her domestic as well as professional life, in contrast to the other lead characters. Within the series narrative Gwen is a South Wales Police officer who discovers the mysterious Torchwood Institute, into which she is recruited by Captain Jack Harkness. Gwen operates as a field agent on Torchwood missions and brings a humane and rounded approach to her team's investigations of extraterrestrial cases through her police procedural training. She is herself empathetic grounded, and relatable. Despite this, Gwen's moral complexity means that she subverts typical expectations of the audience surrogate as she finds herself ethically compromised by her line of work. For example, because Gwen leads a double life in the first series she finds herself growing detached from her long-term boyfriend and is unfaithful to him.

Gwen starts off in the mould of the "girl next door" archetype, and becomes more militant as the series progresses. This has drawn comparisons with action heroines including Ellen Ripley and Buffy Summers. As this militancy became more pronounced, both the production team as well as critical analyses have emphasised the contrast between Gwen's conventionally feminine characteristics and her characterisation as an action hero. The relationship dynamics between Gwen, her boss Jack and her boyfriend-cum-husband Rhys have been singled out as emblematic of the character's conflict between her domestic life and her extraordinary one with Torchwood. Across the various situations in which she is placed, Gwen remains "grounded" by her family life, to which critics have responded positively.

Notes & Trivia

 * The character of was created by director Brian Kelly and writer Russell T. Davies.