By Owen Quinn author
Out of the many shows I like, Torchwood is one of those where you would like to
meet the entire cast. So far, I have met Gwen, Ianto and Rhys and on Saturday 18th
Jaanuary 2024, I ticked another from my list and a very much anticipated one.
Naoko Mori played tech wizard Tosh for two seasons before being killed off along with
Owen in probably one of the best dramatic episodes of any show or in the history of
the entire Whoniverse.
She had first appeared In Doctor Who episode, Aliens of London as a scientist investigating the spacepig crashlanding that took out Big Ben.
She would tell us that it was just another acting job and that she was told had no
connection to her character Tosh. But in fact, just as the Doctor and Rose meeting a
maid in old Wales that was the double of Gwen Cooper, did the writers actually tie it
all together. It would be revealed in her death scene that she was in fact covering for
Owen who had a hangover that day.
Both my son and I are huge Torchwood fans and we were not disappointed. Naoko is
by far one of the most interesting and talkative celebrities that I’ve ever met. To say
that she left a lasting impression on me and especially my son, would be an
understatement. She was so approachable and happily chatted away about the
show and the impact their deaths had. Looking back we can see that the third season
of Torchwood was the five part Children of Earth so was she killed off because the
producers knew the show wasn’t coming back as full seasons? She didn’t know but
was interested in the reaction to the shock value of her death on my son who did not know it was coming.
While doing our photoshoots, she took a great interest in my son’s Japanese logoed
jumper and she told him the meaning behind the tiger logo. They got on like a house
on fire.
Naoko Mori is just a pleasure to meet and engage with. She has a genuine interest in
fans and as demonstrated with my son, takes the conversation and interest beyond
her time on Torchwood.
Awesome lady.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 