Eve Myles

Eve Myles (born 1978) plays Gwen Cooper, the female lead in the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood, which has aired on BBC Three, BBC Two and BBC One. She also guest starred as Gwyneth in the Doctor Who story The Unquiet Dead.

Myles is a native of Ystradgynlais, Wales. Her televison roles have included appearances in EastEnders, and the television film Score. In 2002 and 2003, Myles was nominated for Best Actress in the BAFTA Cymru Awards for her role as Ceri on the BBC Wales drama Belonging. Myles played Lavinia in the 2003 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Titus Andronicus. In 2005, she appeared opposite Michael Gambon in Henry IV, Part I and Henry IV, Part II at the Royal National Theatre.

Myles described her character to The Western Mail thus: "Gwen starts off as a police officer in Cardiff and then gets involved in the Torchwood team. She's a very down-to-earth girl, kind and generous, but extremely ambitious, feisty, intelligent and witty. But she's also very human - she's really the girl next door. Because I'm playing her, I put a lot of me into it and I take a lot of my own characteristics."

Owing to their similar names and the fact that both characters lived near the Cardiff rift, fan speculation arose following the premiere of Torchwood that Gwen Cooper and the character of Gwyneth were related in some way. Russell T Davies once addressed the matter in Doctor Who Magazine #378, stating that they weren't connected, and that "Those are completely different names to me...just two names beginning with 'G'." In 2008, Myles appeared as Gwen in two episodes of Doctor Who, The Stolen Earth and Journey's End; in the latter, there is a short conversation between the Doctor and Rose. Russell T Davies has said "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."

Following her Doctor Who appearance, Myles played a villainous guest star in the BBC Wales-produced Merlin series, which was broadcast on NBC in the United States in July 2009, around the time the third series of Torchwood aired on BBC America.

Paralleling developments with Gwen Cooper in the TV series, in real life, Myles is currently expecting her first child.

Trivia

 * In 2005, The Western Mail ranked Myles seventh in its annual list of the 50 sexiest women in Wales.