Eve Myles

Eve Myles plays Gwen Cooper, the female lead, in the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood on BBC Three. She also guest starred as Gwyneth 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 in Cardiff near the time rift, there is fan speculation that Gwen Cooper and the character of Gwyneth are related in some way. However Russell T. Davies has, in a Doctor Who Magazine number 378 interview stated that there is no connection between the characters and said, "Those are completely different names to me...just two names beginning with 'G'." However as of the Doctor Who episode Journey's End, the Doctor asked Gwen if her ancestry traces back to 19th Century Cardiff with Rose Tyler, which she replies it does and therefore implies her ancestry can be traced back to Gwyneth

Trivia

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