The curse of Torchwood: How the stars of the racy Doctor Who spin-off have endured controversies, marital splits and a cast feud in the 20 years since it hit screens

When Torchwood first hit screens in 2006, it was dubbed the adult Doctor Who spin-off that children should be kept well away from.

Penned by showrunner Russell T Davies, the sci-fi series followed the adventures of Captain Jack Harkness and his team of alien hunters after he escaped being killed by the Daleks in Who's first series in 2005.

Torchwood was seen to be a far darker show than Doctor Who itself, with topics including cannibalism, murder and sex featuring during its four series on the show.

It seems some of the show's stars, including John Barrowman, James Marsters and Burn Gorman have fallen foul of the curse that befell the Torchwood team itself, with many of its team meeting a gruesome demise on the show.

Torchwood broadcast its fourth and final series in 2011, and despite ending on a cliffhanger, Russell has since confirmed there are no plans to revive the show.

Here's a look at the challenges that stars of Torchwood have faced since the crew's hub became a thing of the past...

John Barrowman – Captain Jack Harkness

After he first starred as immortal Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who, John became one of the franchise's most iconic characters.

Indeed, the show focused on Jack's mysterious past, alongside the Torchwood team and their attempts to catch aliens that were roaming across Wales.

But John has not been as prominent in the public eye of late after he was 'blacklisted' following misconduct allegations.

He has struggled to find work since he was accused of exposing himself to co-workers while on the set of Doctor Who and Torchwood, between 2005 and 2011.

The apparent behaviour came to light in 2021, when he was dragged into a Guardian investigation into Noel Clarke – his one-time co-star on Doctor Who – who faced allegations of bullying and sexual misconduct from 26 women.

John was quickly dumped from his job as a judge on ITV's Dancing On Ice, and has said since he was 'blacklisted completely' from the entertainment industry, causing him to fall into a depression and have suicidal thoughts.

However, last year, he insisted he does not 'regret anything' and defended that on the set: 'Everybody was doing outrageous, silly things. It's just that they weren't dragged into this situation by a piece of lazy journalism.'

Speaking on STV's Scotland Tonight, John insisted 'nobody complained' and that he didn't see his behaviour as 'outrageous'.

He said: 'I don't regret anything. It's not so much regret; it was something that was stupid and silly and it was done.

'I don't look back and go... because at the time, everybody was laughing. Everybody on set was having a laugh.'

And when questioned if he was 'basically flashing,' he denied the accusation, saying: 'No, no, no, no, no. This is where it gets a little misconstrued. I was not walking around flashing people randomly and doing things like that.

'If I were doing a nude scene... they'd say, 'do you want to go back to the trailer', I'd say, 'no just leave me here'.

'It was meant to be a closed set – and I'd say, 'Leave me here and let's save time, I'll just stand here and it'll save time that I don't have to go back, have to change, then you have to bring me back and we have to start all over again.'

'So I would stand there, if I was in a nude scene, completely naked, and if somebody walked on set, which they weren't supposed to or they were, I might just do something like that [jiggles] and it was nothing outrageous. I didn't see it as outrageous. It was a different time.'

Earlier this year John was also mocked by fans for being 'entitled' and 'detached from the world' after sharing a lengthy rant about the lack of free pyjamas on his business-class flight. 

Eve Myles – Gwen Cooper

Eve starred in Torchwood as the human Gwen Cooper, with the show's first episode showing her being recruited by Jack to join his team, and she was the only other member of the cast to appear in all four series of the show.

Since starring in Torchwood, Eve has starred in a string of dramas including the BBC hit Keeping Faith, The Crow Girl and earlier this year she appeared in the ITV drama Gone.

But Eve was involved in a feud with her former co-star John back in 2022, after the actor left a comment hinting at tensions between them, before fan backlash led to the actor deleting his X account.

John responded to a video showing himself and Eve gushing how much they cared for one another, which led fans to accuse him of 'spewing rhetoric'.

One user shared a screenshot of John's last post, which was a reply to a fan who had shared a video of himself and Eve gushing about how much they cared for one another.

It read: 'One is telling the truth! One is spewing rhetoric for an audience...'

John's reply then sparked a flurry of comments from users slamming him for airing his outrage publicly, insisting he should reach out to Eve privately.

One posted: 'I don't know what's going on, but please don't do this. Putting someone you were close with on blast like this isn't a good look for you.  

'I think you should talk with Eve privately and air out any grievances you have together.'

In 2016, Eve announced that she had said goodbye to the role of Gwen, tweeting: 'well Iv made my mind up and GC is now Laid to rest... thanks guys for living/hating her... Nightnight.' 

James Marsters – Captain John Hart

Torchwood fans were delighted when Buffy The Vampire Slayer star James Marsters joined the cast for its second series, with Russell saying the actor had lobbied for a role on the show.

But in recent years, the star has had a tumultuous personal life, splitting from his wife Patricia Rahman in 2021 after ten years of marriage.

What ensued was a lengthy legal battle between the former couple, as their divorce wasn't finalised until February of this year.

Court documents stated that the former couple had resolved all outstanding issues, including property division, marital rights and spousal support. 

The pair became engaged after Marsters romantically proposed to Rahman in Trier, Germany, in May 2010, where she was reportedly studying fashion.

The former couple had first crossed paths years earlier at a concert in Amsterdam before eventually tying the knot in Los Angeles in January 2011.

Marsters was previously married to Liane Davidson, with whom he shares a 27-year-old son, Sullivan. 

He ended that marriage in 1997 after eight years together.

Gareth David Lloyd – Ianto Jones

Ianto became one of Torchwood's most beloved characters, thanks to his blossoming romance with boss Jack.

His character's death in the third series, Children Of Earth, is still considered one of the most heartbreaking moments in the entire Doctor Who franchise. 

Gareth himself has maintained a close relationship with the show, having reprised his role as Ianto in a string of Big Finish audio dramas.

But fans' attempts to maintain their own legacy for his character were brought to an end this year when a shrine in Cardiff in honour of Ianto was dismantled.

A spokesman for Mermaid Quay confirmed it was exploring the possibility of a new plaque for Ianto once maintenance work had been completed.

Carol-Anne Hillman, who had been looking after the shrine since 2017, told the BBC she was 'devastated' that the tribute would be taken down.

She said: 'It became part of my life in Cardiff. I've got a back bedroom that's got about 11 or 12 bags of decorations now that I can't use.

'I've spent hundreds buying all these decorations. There's loads of people now that won't get even the first look at the shrine.'