Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood often pushed the boundaries (who could ever forget that famous second episode?) but star Gareth David-Lloyd has revealed there were some episodes that had to be toned down and otherwise would have been too gory for screen.

We're just days away from the 20th anniversary of the beloved series and, to celebrate the occasion, Radio Times caught up with the actor who played fan-favourite Ianto Jones. Reminiscing on his favourite episode, season 1's Countrycide, David-Lloyd recalled some gruesome scenes from the script.

"It was Countrycide, the Welsh cannibal episode that I thought, 'Are they going to get away with this?'" he admitted.

"The original script was a lot more gory than the what what we did. Ianto was supposed to be trussed up upside down, and the other kid next to him was supposed to have his throat cut like an animal - it was really quite gory, and it was toned down.

"But it was still definitely pushing the boundaries. As a horror fan, I really enjoyed it. But I did wonder how much they could get away with."

Thinking back to that incredible episode, David-Lloyd remembers: "I just loved the fact that it was the first episode where there are no monsters, there are no aliens. It's just Welsh valley people who are cannibals!

"It was so unexpected, and the script walked the line between comedy and horror so brilliantly. I remember reading the episodes with Eve Myles [who played Gwen Cooper], and we both burst out laughing reading: 'Torchwood. What's that then? A band?'

"It was this sheer horror, and then all of a sudden, just a little one liner that would remind you that it was all okay."

Over the course of the series, Ianto became a cult character, culminating in his devastating death scene, which fans of the show have yet to recover from. He was so well-loved that a shrine for the character stood at Cardiff Bay, until it had to be taken down earlier this year.

However, amazingly, at the beginning of the show, the character didn't even have enough lines for David-Lloyd to say at his audition, which led to him having to audition with another character's speech.

"It was a speech from the end of episode one," David-Lloyd recalls. "I think it one of the police officers, one of Gwen's fellow officers, and he was talking about the murder weapon. I did that bit and two Ianto lines as well, which I think were, 'Careful, that's harassment, sir,' and something else."

From the episode Cyberwoman onwards, however, Ianto became a key character.

"A lot of it took me by surprise," he reflects. "I had no idea the Cyberwoman episode was coming until I got the script.

"I think it was two weeks before we started shooting it. I felt very comfortable at the time, you know, excited and privileged and honoured, but also quite safe in the fact I come in to do a couple of dry, flirty one-liners with the lead character.

"And then Cyberwoman arrived, it was posted through the letterbox, and I was like, 'Oh my word!' The responsibility really sort of hit me. It was both exciting and terrifying at the same time."

Stay tuned for more from Gareth David Lloyd as we celebrate Torchwood turning 20 this week!

Torchwood is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.