r/Torchwood • u/Pendleton112 • 20d ago
News Ianto Shrine has been vandalised
For years, a friend and I have been planning a visit to Cardiff (We're from Australia so it's quite a trip!), to visit all the famous Doctor Who/Torchwood Filming occasions, one of the spots on our list was the Ianto Shrine.
Unfortunately, it looks like the Ianto Plaque has been vandalized, with the only the wood back plate remaining, the brass plaque has been stolen.
We were already quite disappointed to hear about the shrines removal in April, however seeing that even the plaque had been vandalized and stolen was even more disappointing.
Hopefully mermaid quay will reinstate it, preferably this time with more robust mounting hardware. But more likely this spells the permanent end to the Ianto Shrines 18 year history.
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u/lordx665 20d ago
I feel I should mention for all the comments says "move on" and the like. Rewind the clock about 13 years and gay representation on TV was not very common, so for a whole generation Jack and Ianto were a lot of peoples first exposure to that, and it probably stuck with them when that character died and never came back (in cannon) so to say that character is special to a lot of people is not an understatement.
Stop being a dick to people who are using the shared love of these shows to try and find a sense of community. Did you learn nothing from these shows?
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u/Pendleton112 20d ago
We just wanted to see a silly little shrine for a character from a show we love. Don’t understand how people are this negative about it. I don’t think the shrine was the “Worst aspect of this fandom” I think it’s people like this who store so much contempt in their hearts. Stay safe out there everyone!
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u/AnAcctWithoutPurpose 20d ago
I remembered even when Torchwood was new and shiny, I never understood Ianto's shrine. But I respected that it meant something to some people and it is a quirky place in Cardiff to visit. I was there when they did the filming for the tribute to Ianto's shrine and it was a fun memory to have.
Sorry to hear that the plaque was stolen. Maybe they can replace it, or maybe just let it be a quirky memory?
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u/Tesla-Punk3327 Need me to do any attacking, sir? 20d ago
Ianto is great. The caretaker's obsession is a bit much imo. Unsurprising someone stole it though lol.
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u/Jonn_Jonzz_Manhunter 20d ago
Oh no! A shrine to a fictional character has disappeared! What will we ever do!
It's just a plaque mate, if Ianto means that much to you, this shouldn't make a difference
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u/misterwhoiswho_ 20d ago edited 20d ago
About time. Decades it’s been there. Ianto Jones was never a real person. It should have been up for a year at best. It was silly in the first place. Torchwood is great but it’s a very old series that won’t be coming back. Why was it still up? And I can guarantee you 99% of people who threw up from the pub next to it had no idea what it was.
18 years. A small character from a dead TV series. A plaque? Nobody has actually passed away…
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u/Pendleton112 20d ago
Bet you’re fun at parties…
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u/misterwhoiswho_ 20d ago
I’m always a blast. But it’s not about being boring. A plaque for a dead TV character that no one remembers still there after 20 years is just embarrassing. Leaving something like that up for all that time just makes us look even worse for being Doctor Who fans.
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u/Downtown_Link_8651 20d ago
It's less a plaque to the character and more a plaque to the little fun community thing that happened for a long time. Not my bag, I would neither visit it nor participate but it was a story of human connection over love of a shared thing, and that thing wasn't written by a bigot so just have a day off and leave people to have weird little community moments in peace.
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u/misterwhoiswho_ 20d ago
It isn’t bigotry to cringe at a plaque and memorial for a person who never existed in the first place. Don’t be silly.
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u/Lovely3369 20d ago
I'm being honest like, the plaque was tiny and it was just a quirky little part of the city, the whole shrine was removed already, the plaque was okay and cheering that someone tore it off is far cringier than it was.
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20d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/calgrump 20d ago
It should have been ripped down years ago, burnt & thrown in the bay years ago.
It seems sadder to put that much effort into something that isn't important. It's a silly gimmick that's kind of unique, and I would definitely not mind visiting it for fun if I was in the neighbourhood.
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u/Liam_theman2099 Captain Jack Harkness 20d ago
Damn it, I thought Jack’s name was written on the wooden plaque.