Nation.Cymru staff
When it was revealed that much-loved Cardiff sci-fi visitor attraction Ianto’s Shrine was to be taken down there were protests by fans of Torchwood and Doctor Who.
The shrine, which stood at Cardiff Bay for almost 20 years, pays tribute to the beloved Torchwood character Ianto Jones, whose untimely death left fans so bereft they created a lasting tribute to him in the location where the series was filmed.
Now it’s been revealed that the shrine is to be saved in a unique fashion and in a new location in Cardiff Bay.
Speaking to Radio Times as Torchwood turns 20 this week, Gareth David-Lloyd who played Ianto revealed some very welcome news.
“Nathan Wyburn, the brilliant artist from Cardiff, he’s taken all the bits and pieces from the shrine and he’s making a a piece of art that will last forever,” he said.
“I think they’re displaying it at the Red Dragon Centre to fall in line with the 20th anniversary – it might be a bit later now, I think it might be the beginning of next year. I know it’s going to be there up until the Red Dragon Centre closes, and then hopefully it’ll find a new home.”
Earlier this year, David-Lloyd said the shrine “has been a reminder for me all these years, through a lot of hard times, through times when I [wondered] whether I was going to carry on acting, those times where you don’t feel like anyone wants to employ you or even consider you for something, it’s a reminder that the work I’ve done has mattered to somebody somewhere, and it’s kept me going”.
He added: “It’s always been close to my heart in that way. So, a big thank you to Carol-Ann [Hillman, the shrine’s official caretaker] and everyone involved with its upkeep and looking after it and visiting it and posting about it, posting pictures of themselves by it. Thank you to everyone who’s helped with that, because it’s kept me going in quite a few ways.”
Looking back at the early days of the show David-Lloyd told Radio Times that he never expected fans to love Ianto as much as they did.
“The popularity of Ianto and the shrine, that sort of knocked me for six,” he said. “I knew he was turning to a cult character as we were shooting, with comments that were being put online and reactions.
“The first convention that I went to, I was expecting like two or three people to turn up to get pictures signed. But it really shocked me how many hearts he touched and how many hearts that relationship between him and Jack touched.
“It still makes me well up when I think of fans that come up and say that Ianto helped them come out to their families and help them accept themselves and believe in themselves. All of that was a big surprise to me, and it still makes my heart warm and fuzzy today.”
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