It was a death that left fans across the nation devastated.

And 11 years after Torchwood's Ianto Jones was tragically killed off, star John Barrowman delighted fans by paying a visit to the character's shrine in Cardiff on Friday.

The Doctor Who star, who played Ianto's lover Captain Jack Harkness in the BBC spin-off, said no one noticed him visiting the homage as he was wearing a mask after returning to the UK to film the upcoming series of Dancing On Ice.

John shared a snap of his face alongside the shrine, which continues to be a attraction in the city, over a decade after it was first made to honour Ianto after his death.

The actor donned a mask for his outing as the nation continues to be gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He penned the caption: 'Out for my walk and nobody knew it was me paying some respect to #Ianto Jb.' 

John's post was flooded with responses from fans who shared their own experiences visiting the shrine, with some admitting it was painful reliving Ianto's passing.

One wrote: 'Just watched Stolen Earth this week and it was heartbreaking but amazing to see Ianto Jones in Doctor Who again. Love that a shrine still exists for him!'

Another added: 'Well this was an unexpectedly painful trip down memory lane. I really thought I was over Ianto Jones. Wtf heart.'

A third wrote: 'BRING TORCHWOOD BACK ON SCREEN,' with one fan also writing: 'Still one of the top gut-wrenching scenes in any show I've watched.'

Fans were distraught when Ianto was killed during the miniseries Children Of Earth, after he and Jack were trapped in a building filled with poisonous gas.

While immortal Jack could survive the ordeal, he was forced to hold lover Ianto in his arms as he slowly died, leaving viewers in floods of tears.

His death sparked a nationwide campaign by fans to be resurrected which raised over £15,000 for Children In Need, and a shrine was erected in Cardiff in his honour, close to where the series was filmed.

Torchwood acted as a very adult spin-off of Doctor Who after Captain Jack's first appearance in 2005, with the immortal time agent forming a team to investigate extraterrestrial events.

For many Ianto's relationship with Jack took centre stage, at a time when LGBT relationships on TV were few and far between.

Despite Ianto's death, actor Gareth David-Lloyd has reprised the role in multiple Big Finish audio dramas, and previously said he'd be open to reprising his role.

He told Radio Times in 2015: 'I'd absolutely come back. I think it'd have to be done in the right way and I'm sure it would be, with all the brilliantly creative people involved. 

'But there was such drama and such uproar at Ianto's death – I don't think it could be something that happened too easily.

'It would have to be a sort of laboured resurrection, a story in itself, rather than just a case of sticking on a resurrection glove and he's fine again.'

Last year John surprised Who fans nationwide by secretly reprising his role as Captain Jack for the episode Fugitive of the Judoon opposite Jodie Whittaker's incarnation of The Doctor.

His appearance was kept secret until it aired, sending viewers into a frenzy, and he returned once again in the New Year's Day Special Revolution of the Daleks.