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In Torchwood – Children Of Earth, the quiet coffee maker finds himself out of his comfort zone. But it doesn't take him long to find his stride and he is soon right at the heart of the action.

"I absolutely loved filming this series – there are so many scenes that are memorable," says Gareth David-Lloyd, who plays Ianto. "But the one that does come to mind is crawling through the wreckage after a huge explosion.

"We filmed it in a quarry and used real pyrotechnics. It was really hot and I had to climb up the side of this quarry. It was the first time in my career I felt like a proper action hero.

"It's one big adrenalin rush after another. I enjoyed it more than ever as I had the chance to be a bigger part of the action."

"I found the five-episode storyline effective – there's one emotional journey throughout. I think people will be more scared by this new series. There's a real seriousness to what's going on."

Although the format of the series has changed, the impact and effect of Torchwood remains the same.

"There's just as much human drama as there is sci-fi in this series," says Gareth.

"I can't wait to see the entire series. It has this race against time element to it. As each episode goes by, the pace increases and it gets faster and faster – like a roller coaster – and it's a real adrenalin ride."

As the series has developed, so has the character of Ianto Jones: "I think Ianto has changed quite a lot since the series first began because of everything that's happened to him.

"He lost everything he loved at one point, and then realised that all that was left for him was Torchwood and Jack – they had to replace the hole in his life. He's learnt to be less guarded and be more like himself – a bit more content with himself as a person."

The relationship between Captain Jack and Ianto also undergoes a transformation, with the two growing ever closer.

"It was nice to film those elements of the series. As it panned out across previous series, the relationship between Jack and Ianto has been quite organic. So it was nice that we get to the stage in series three where they are going through all the usual couple difficulties. I think the way it's been done is extremely real."

The alien threat facing the future of humanity, the 456, is nothing the team has ever encountered before. And hidden beneath the reality of the situation is the fact that one of the team is hiding a dark secret.

"I think every character goes through the process of thinking about giving up. We're lucky they don't all think about giving up at the same time! The good thing about the team is that they've got each other to pull them out of the darkness."

However fierce the alien threat, Torchwood has the additional threat of being targeted themselves – a threat that throws the team into chaos.

"I think Torchwood copes really well under threat and by episode three they're up and running again – proving how resilient they are. I think that's what makes them such a good team. They've been together for so long that they know each other inside out."