The Coffee Shop Rhys Williams

Rhys Williams is an essential part of the Torchwood team.  Once on the side lines, keeping a distant eye on his wife Gwen, making sure Jack Harkness, who he always considered a threat to his relationship, wouldn’t make a move on her. 

Rhys Williams was killed by Bilis Manger in the Hub where Gwen thought he’d be safe; he was back in his flat after Abaddon was defeated by Jack, when time was reversed.

He took a bullet for Gwen in ‘Meat’ and from then on, he knew all about Torchwood, about alien life, about Gwen’s job, about the risks she took to protect him and ultimately the world, but most of all, that above all else, Gwen would always come back to him, back to her family.

So we thought it would be interesting to find out what the fans thought about the loveable character that loves his pints and his footie and has a soft heart, but is fiercely protective of his family. 

What are your favourite Rhys quotes, moments in the series, in audios and in books?  If you have any stories about Rhys that you’d like to add or any favourite photos – email those in so we can add them to this.

You can post your favourite quotes and moments in the comment box below…

Claudia Lindner It must be the one from "Exit Wounds": "I'm keeping a lot of secrets. Like a time agency based in Cardiff". Lol. Classic Rhys!

I think Rhys was so popular because he was so grounded, he was the ordinary, round-the-corner guy when confronted with aliens. Lol. And he was so good-humoured, you have to like him and an all around loveable, nice guy - and you always felt a bit sorry for him, that he put up with Gwen.

Katja Armbruster Aliens? In Cardiff?

Profiles: Rhys Williams

Species: Human

Ally or Foe: Definite ally

Episodes appeared in:

S1 – Combat, End of Days

S2 – Meat, Something Borrowed, Adrift, Fragments, Exit Wounds.

Referenced in Doctor Who – Stolen Earth.

Children of Earth

Miracle Day

Novels – Another Life, Border Princes, Slow Decay, Something in the Water, The Twilight Streets, Trace Memory, Pack Animals, SkyPoint, Almost Perfect, Bay of the Dead, The House That Jack Built, Consequences, Army of One and First Born, Exodus Code.

Audios – The Dead Line, Ghost Train, The Sin Eaters, The Devil and Miss Carew.

“Aliens?  In Cardiff?”

Rhys Alun Williams, son of Brenda and Barry Williams, husband to Gwen Elizabeth Cooper and father to Anwen Williams has seen a fair bit of alien activity over the years, but it wasn’t always like that. 

In the early days, Rhys began his career as a transport co-ordinator for Luckley’s, a small printing firm.  At his interview he wore a smart pair of trousers!  He then became transport manager at Harwood’s Haulage.  He wrote a ‘catchy’ jingle for a Harwood’s radio advertisement. 

“You won’t be sorry with a Harwood’s Lorry.”

Harwood’s is a large haulage firm with businesses in Carlisle, Ipswich, Sheffield as well as Cardiff.

When Leighton, one of the drivers was killed in a road traffic accident, it led to Rhys discovering that his fiancée Gwen Cooper wasn’t telling him the entire truth about her work placement.  It was also Rhys’ first introduction to Torchwood and alien life, such as the ‘Cash cow’ in the warehouse belonging to Harries & Harries, who Leighton was paid to do deliveries to the abattoir, no questions asked.

Rhys takes on the role of infiltrator of Harries & Harries on behalf of Torchwood and takes a bullet for Gwen. 

After the misuse of Retcon by Suzie on Max, Gwen was reluctant to give Rhys another dose after having drugged him during her confession of an affair with Dr. Owen Harper. 

After the Hub was destroyed in Children of Earth, and the team went into hiding.  All contact with family and friends were cut.  For a long time, Gwen and her family remained distant from Torchwood and Cardiff and spent a lot of time on the run, even though to all intents and purposes, it had been the government at fault during the entire 456 invasion.

After the loss of Ianto and the death of Stephen, Jack has left Earth.  Gwen and Rhys remain off radar with limited contact from friends and family.  Using code words, only Sgt Andy Davidson can inform Gwen about her Dad’s heart attack. 

Once more Gwen puts herself in danger of being captured by the authorities still searching for all operatives of Torchwood.  When they do catch up with her and Jack, Rhys remains in Wales, with his daughter and mother in law Mary, in Swansea.

Rhys proves to be a useful contact and once again it’s down to Torchwood to reset the world. 

Despite feeling extremely jealous of Captain Jack Harkness, and his affection for Gwen, he has a lot of respect for the man who would do absolutely anything to protect her. 

Fans Fiction What Present Should I Buy For Her? By Antje Strauch

Set after Season 2 and before Season 3 

There are 22 hidden songs in this story, see if you can find them!

     It was the end of November. This time of year had crept up on Rhys again. Hadn’t it been summer just recently? But now, if you drove just a bit outside Cardiff, you were greeted by a white winter wonderland. Children pleaded: “Let it snow!” And when it did, they left their Xbox’s and built Frosty, the Snowman.
The shops were decorated nicely with silver bells and lights and the sellers told everyone: “We wish you a merry Christmas!”
     And Rhys had no idea which present Gwen would like.  Last Christmas he had gotten a bottle of perfume on the 24th of December. There had been no time in the weeks before Christmas, as work was very busy. Everyone wanted their deliveries in time. But he had seen that Gwen only feigned her joy. “Smells very good!” she’d told him with a bit too much enthusiasm, and then gave him a very thoughtful and personal gift. He’d never felt more ashamed.
     That’s why he wanted to have THE perfect gift this year.  But who could he ask for advice? None of his friends seemed to know about women and gifts. Maybe one of Gwen’s friends? Since she’d joined Torchwood, she was more there than at home. One should assume that they knew her well enough to give him a little hint. But who should he ask? Jack? Did they even celebrate Christmas, wherever he came from? Rhys was doubtful.  If Owen was still alive, he surely would have lots of ideas – playing cards with naked men maybe, or a hot policewoman’s uniform, which would be more a gift for Rhys, then. After Owen and Tosh’s death Rhys had spent a lot of nights with Gwen on the couch listening to all her little stories, when she couldn’t sleep. To celebrate Christmas without her friends surely would be hard for her.
     The only one left was Ianto, then. Rhys often had no idea what this quiet young man was thinking, but it was obvious that both Gwen and Jack always listened when he said something.

     When they spent their usual Friday at the Bowling Center, Rhys took the opportunity to talk to Ianto in a corner.

   “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas“, he started, then he did not know how to continue. But Ianto seemed to have telepathy among his many talents.
   “You don’t know which gift to buy for Gwen“, he stated, while doing his shoelaces. He then looked up to Rhys. Rhys merely nodded. Ianto seemed to consider the question carefully.  “I do have an idea but it won’t be an easy task“, he warned. Then he explained further what he had in mind. Rhys was astonished. He never would’ve thought that Gwen would like something like that. But surely it didn’t hurt to try it out?

     When he came home the next evening Gwen was already home. That did not happen very often. And she had been busy. The flat smelled wonderful.

   “Are those biscuits?” he asked and gave Gwen a kiss. Gwen kissed him back passionately and if they weren’t careful, the biscuits would burn. For a moment Rhys was tempted to not care, but then he remembered Gwen’s gift. There weren’t many days left till Christmas Eve.  So he withdrew carefully. “I have some work left to do“, he told Gwen. He really felt sorry when he saw her face. They usually did not lie to each other.
     Gwen lost her temper. “For once I came home early to spend time with you, and you have to work?”

   “And how often did I eat alone while you were busy catching monsters?”Rhys yelled back. He actually didn’t want to fight, but it was true. If they compared who waited more and longer for the other, he surely would win.
   “Good, if you’re busy, then I can go and catch a few more monsters, as you put it!” And the door closed after Gwen. Rhys sighed, switched off the oven, then went to the next room and got out all the tools he had gotten from Ianto. He also had explained how to use everything. Rhys was determined to finish what he started.
     It became a very silent night for him.

     Finally the Holy Eve arrived. Rhys looked around the decorated flat. Mistletoe and holly really do look wonderful, he thought. He peered at Gwen who dreamily looked into the candle flames.
   “Santa Claus is coming to town” he teased her. “Have you been good so you will get lots of gifts?”
     Gwen looked at him as if awakening from a dream. Then her eyes became even bigger than they usually were.

   “Oh holy night!” she stammered. “I… I have to go. Torchwood – don’t wait for me!” And again Rhys looked at a closing door.

     It’s cold outside, he thought; couldn’t Jack let them at least have Christmas off? Funny, he actually hadn’t heard Gwen’s mobile phone ring.

     When Rhys awoke on the morning of the 25th of December, he saw many little Suzy Snowflakes dancing outside their window. The snow, which had thawed once already, was coming back. They would indeed have a white Christmas.
     Rhys bent over Gwen who was still asleep, and gave her a kiss.

   “Get up, get up and see - it’s a marshmallow world!”Then he opened a window, got some snow from the sill and threw this improvised snowball after Gwen. Who said “Ew!” and run out of the sleeping room.  Rhys ran after her as he did not want to miss the big moment. Gwen already had found her lovingly wrapped present. Still clad in her pyjamas she sat down at the ground and started to unwrap it. Rhys sat next to her and put an arm around her. Then they both looked at page after page of the photo album he had cut, decorated and glued on so many evenings.
     The pictures showed Gwen and him, sometimes her parents or their friends, and memories of many nice moments, which already had been forgotten, returned. Often, when Rhys had accidentally cut his fingers while creating it, he hadn’t believed that a woman like Gwen would be impressed by such a simple thing, but when he now saw her happy eyes he knew that all the hard work had not been in vain.
     On the last page he had added a travel voucher. It had been ages since the two of them had spent a nice holiday somewhere. Surely they would find a nice place to go.
When Gwen had reached the last page, she just quietly lowered her head, instead of enthusiastically thanking him. Rhys had no idea what triggered this odd reaction. He was even more confused when she rose and got out her gift for him.  While he opened, he kept looking at Gwen, but her face was an unreadable mask.  When he finally opened the box, he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Apparently that was the last thing Gwen expected, and when he saw her mouth hanging open, he only laughed more. It took a long time till he caught his breath. Torchwood, ha! Someone obviously had gotten a very last-minute present yesterday evening!
     But Gwen really seemed close to tears.

   “I’m sorry, since we’re only three of us at work we can hardly cope, the rift has been like crazy the past months, and I always thought there still was time, and then it suddenly the Holy Eve had arrived and…”
     Rhys took Gwen in his arms. “Come on, it’s not the end of the world, all I want for Christmas is you!” he tried to cheer her up. The smile still played around his lips. “Let’s have breakfast, our parents will soon arrive.”  Then he put a piece of chocolate into his mouth.

     A few hours later both of them were running through the flat like headless chickens while trying to bring some order into the chaos. “Have the candles been lit?” Gwen asked, while Rhys tried to put the wrapping paper into the bin. The door bell already was ringing. Outside stood parents and parents-in-law, loaded with parcels and packets, wishing “Merry Christmas everybody!”

The flat suddenly was filled with laughter. As much as annoying they could be sometimes, Rhys couldn’t imagine being able to have a wonderful Christmas time without the family.  Everyone praised the photo album and his creativity, and Rhys felt a bit embarrassed. He was waiting for the bell to announce that the turkey was finally finished.
     Half an hour later he was put out of his misery. He carved it and gave everyone a piece on their plate. After doing some Christmas crackers and putting on the obligatory paper hats, they started with the meal and all the bowls and extra dishes.
     Only when the Queen did her usual Christmas speech on the TV they went quiet for a while to listen. “During Christmas we all should think about the people who are alone” she said. “Do they know it’s Christmas? Why don’t you invite your neighbour to spend the evening with him? Nobody should be alone at Christmas time. Happy Christmas!” Afterwards someone sung “Ave Maria“.

     Some time later, – Rhys just had gotten a big spoon full of Plum pudding – his mother asked in all innocence: “What did Gwen actually give to you, Rhys?” He took some time to think of an answer, then announced: “She gave me so much that I couldn’t wear it all at once!” He grinned at Gwen, who turned a bit crimson.  Luckily nobody asked for details and the conversation went on to new topics.  But Rhys still was grinning. Of course he never would tell anybody that Gwen had bought him two of those gift boxes with a tie and fitting socks.  But he would have blackmail material for the whole next year!

THE END

And here are all the songs used - have you found them all?


01. This time of year
02. Winter wonderland
03. Let it snow
04. Frosty the snowman
05. Silver Bells
06. We wish you a merry Christmas
07. Last Christmas
08. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas
09. Silent Night
10. Mistletoe and Holly
11. Santa Claus is coming to town
12. Oh Holy Night
13. It’s cold outside
14. Suzy Snowflake
15. White Christmas
16. It’s a Marshmallow World
17. All I want for Christmas is you
18. Merry Christmas everybody
19. Wonderful Christmastime
20. Do they know it’s Christmas?
21. Happy Christmas

22. Ave Maria



Maybe somebody wants to sing with me? No? Thought so ;)