High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Rhys Alun Williams, portrayed by Kai Owen, is a fictional character in the BBC television programme Torchwood, a spin-off from the long-running series Doctor Who. The character is introduced in the premiere episode as the co-habiting boyfriend of principal character Gwen Cooper. While Gwen is initially introduced to the series as an audience surrogate character, Rhys is also used by the production team as an "everyman" character that provides a quintessential link between the show`s fantasy setting and the real world; producer Richard Stokes states that "Without him, it simply becomes a sci-fi show about sci-fi people, running around and hunting aliens." The original intention of the writers had been to kill off Rhys at the end of the first series, but series creator Russell T Davies found it necessary to keep the show grounded through Rhys as Gwen evolved as a character; this necessitated his survival within the show and Kai Owen`s elevation to star billing cast status in the third series.