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The team are introduced through the perspective of Gwen Cooper, a local police officer who gets caught up in their work and is eventually persuaded to join them. As in Doctor Who, the emphasis is on the combination of the day-to-day with the supernatural. Gwen's down-to-earth nature and human values are in contrast with the technology-and-alien-obsessed team.

The team are not only interested in their jobs, however. In a recent interview with Gay Times, Russell T. Davies laid out his vision for the show's handling of sexuality:

"Without making it political or dull, this is going to be a very bisexual programme. I want to knock down the barriers so we can't define which of the characters is gay. We need to start mixing things up, rather than thinking, 'This is a gay character and he'll only ever go off with men.'"

Almost from its opening moments, the show demonstrated its unusually fluid approach, not only to sexuality, but also to gender. Standing in the rain, the 51st century Captain Jack remarks in passing to a colleague that “At least I won't get pregnant. I'm never doing that again.” Throughout the show's first two episodes, he is seen making suggestive comments to men as well as women.

Meanwhile, others in the Torchwood team are having same-sex moments, too (though they are caused by supernatural circumstances). Gwen is drawn into kissing a young woman possessed by an alien. Owen, the medic of the team, has got hold of a spray that makes him irresistible to women. Finding that the girl he is with has an angry boyfriend, he solves the situation by exposing the boyfriend to the spray, too.

Jack's sexuality is brought up front when the older members of the team discuss him with Gwen in his absence. They actually know very little about him as a person, and are curious to know if Gwen has discovered anything. Owen thinks he's gay - Toshiko, the (female) computer whiz of the team, thinks he isn't. Ianto, the (male) receptionist, says he doesn't care one way or another. Owen is adamant, referring to Jack's clothes: “Period military uniform isn't the dress of a straight man.”

What remains to be seen over the course of the show is whether Jack's bisexuality will move from the realm of flirtatious looks and comments to both genders, into a serious relationship with one person. Since most of the Torchwood team seem to be single, there is plenty of room for love at work. Gareth David-Lloyd, the actor who plays Ianto, has said in the Radio Times that: “Ianto has a partner, which I'm not allowed to talk about. But there's definitely an attraction there, for Jack. And possibly for Gwen.” One possibility, then, is that Jack and the gay-or-bisexual Ianto will find themselves drawn together in future episodes.

At present, however, the show seems to be pointing quite strongly to an attraction between Gwen and Jack. Indeed, Gwen even kisses Jack out of gratitude after he has helped to save a girl from an alien. He clearly finds her warmth, her sense of justice, her very ordinariness and lack of glamour appealing. She is drawn towards his good looks and to the mystery surrounding his background.

In a recent interview with The Times of London, Russell T. Davies makes it clear that Gwen will be having an affair with someone at work. He says:

“She has a lovely boyfriend at home, she has this extraordinary job at Torchwood which she can't talk about. She starts to have this affair with someone at work because it's the only way she can share what's going on. It's a very human situation. I'm very pleased with that storyline because it's told in a very adult manner. There are powerful scenes of lust and anger and hurt and the joy you get out of the initial stages of having an affair.”

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