Mary Tamm

Mary Tamm (22 March 1950 – 26 July 2012) was a British actress, who appeared in many British TV drama series and serials, and is best known for her role as Romana I in the BBC's science fiction television series Doctor Who, starring opposite Tom Baker in the 1978–1979 story arc The Key to Time. Early life Tamm was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, to Estonian immigrant parents, and attended Bradford Girls' Grammar School. She was a graduate and an associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she studied from 1969 to 1971. Acting career Tamm began acting on the stage with the Birmingham Repertory Company in 1971. She moved to London in 1972 and appeared in the musical Mother Earth. Her first TV role for the BBC was as Sally in The Donati Conspiracy shown in 1973. This was followed by an episode of Warship in 1974. In 1975, she featured in Muriel Spark's The Girls of Slender Means on BBC2. Before her association with Doctor Who, Tamm acted in a few films, including Tales That Witness Madness (1973), The Odessa File (1974) and The Likely Lads (1976). In 1981, she took the part of Rhoda Dawes in Agatha Christie's Cards on the Table at London's Vaudeville Theatre. Tamm was not initially interested in playing a companion to the Doctor, believing that the role was merely that of the "damsel in distress". She changed her mind when assured by the producers that Romana would be a member of the Doctor's own race and therefore as capable as he. Tamm left the programme after only one season because she felt that the character had reverted to the traditional assistant role and could not be developed further. In a 2007 interview, she stated that she was willing to shoot a regeneration sequence to allow a smooth transition between her tenure and that of her eventual successor (Lalla Ward), but was not invited to do so. One source states that pregnancy was the reason that she was not asked to return, which Tamm denied as a false rumour invented by producer John Nathan-Turner.