Emma-Louise Cowell was a woman from 1953 who accidentally travelled through the Cardiff Rift with Diane Holmes and John Ellis more than 50 years into the future. She was born in 1935.

She loved films, particularly musicals, and was an avid cinema goer. Shortly before leaving her own time, she went to see the film Calamity Jane with her best friend Kate five times and later purchased the LP. She identified "Just Blew in from the Windy City" as her favourite song.

Emma's father died in 1959 at the age of 48 while her mother lived to be 81. She had an aunt named Nora, an uncle named Finn and several cousins who lived in Dublin in 1953.

Like the others, she had trouble adapting to this new world at first. She missed her parents, Kate and her dog. Emma also briefly believed she would need to find a husband now that she was stranded in 2007 due to 1950s society she came from; later learning partnerships were no longer a requirement for a decent public image.

She was shocked to discover that sexual attitudes were more relaxed; she had been expecting to just have a kiss and a cuddle with a young man whom she had met at a party, but he in fact wanted more. Since Emma couldn't judge the intentions of 21st century men well, she decided to stick one last 1950s belief; wait until marriage.

Emma adapted to her new life better than the other two. She was staying with Gwen Cooper and told Rhys Williams that she was her cousin. However, Rhys discovered she was not Gwen's cousin. She found a job as a shop assistant in London. Despite protesting at first, Gwen let her go to lead her own life, accepting Emma's reasoning that she had to leave now or she'd never be able to go. She finally left Cardiff on a coach from a coach station on 24 December, starting work on the 27th. (TV: Out of Time)

Behind the scenes[]

Torchwood website[]

The series 1 version of the Torchwood website contained a number of documents and articles pertaining to Emma-Louise Cowell.

Family waits anxiously for news of Sea Plane Girl[]

A newspaper article titled "Family waits anxiously for news of Sea Plane Girl" stated that Emma-Louise Cowell was travelling to Dublin from Bristol to help Finn Cowell with the children over Christmas, after Nora Cowell fell ill. The article reported that Emma's mother had waved her off at Bristol airport. The plane never touched down in Dublin and was officially announced missing on the 19th December when an intensive search of the Irish Sea began.^[1]

Anguish of flight death girl's parents[]

A newspaper article titled "Anguish of flight death girl's parents" reported that the parents of Emma-Louise Cowell, Elizabeth Cowell (38) and Roger Cowell (42), had lashed out at the pilot of the Sea Gypsy, Diane Holmes.^[2]

Emma's parents[]

A couple of obituaries reported on the deaths of Emma's parents. Her father, Roger David Cowell, died 16 April 1959, aged 48, at Bristol General. He had been born in 1911. A memorial service took place in his memory at St David's on 29 April 1959 at 3pm. He was survived by his wife.

Emma's mother, Elizabeth Louise Cowell - known lovingly as "Nana Bet", died in March 1996 in Dublin. She was born in 1915. She was described as a beloved auntie to Phyllis, Jean and Mary Cowell. Her obituary was in the Dublin Gazette dated 22 March 1996.^[3]

Footnotes[]