Mary Tamm (22 March 1950 – 26 July 2012) was a British actress who appeared in many British TV drama series and serials. She is best known for her role as Romana I in the BBC's science fiction television series Doctor Who,[1] appearing opposite Tom Baker in the 1978–1979 story arc The Key to Time.
Mary Tamm | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tamm as Romana I in Doctor Who | |
| Born | 22 March 1950 Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 26 July 2012 (aged 62) London, England |
| Alma mater | Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1970–2012 |
| Spouse |
Marcus Ringrose (m. 1978) |
| Children | 1 |
Early life
editTamm was born in Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, to an Estonian father and a half-Russian mother, who was an opera singer. Her parents had fled Estonia after four of her father's brothers had died in Stalin's gulag labour camps.[2][3] Tamm spoke only Estonian at home, and attended Estonian-language school on Saturdays. She did not begin learning English until she was enrolled in primary school.[2] At age 11, she won a scholarship to attend Bradford Girls' Grammar School and joined the city's Civic Theatre.[4][5][6] She was a graduate and an associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she studied from 1969 to 1971.[7]
Acting career
editTamm began acting on the stage with the Birmingham Repertory Company in 1971.[8] 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.[9] This was followed by an episode of Warship in 1974.[10] In 1975, she featured in Muriel Spark's The Girls of Slender Means on BBC2.[11] 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.[12]
Tamm is best known for her role as Romana I in the BBC's science fiction television series Doctor Who,[13] appearing opposite Tom Baker in the 1978–1979 story arc The Key to Time. She was not initially interested in playing a companion to the Doctor,[14] believing that the role was merely that of the "damsel in distress", but 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.[15][16] 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.[17] 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.[18][19][20] In an interview given in autumn 2009, Mary Tamm considered The Androids of Tara to be her favourite Doctor Who story as she liked the setting of Leeds Castle [in Kent], her costume, her fellow actors, and that she could play three parts - Romana, the android, and Princess Strella.[21]
After leaving the series, Tamm took leading roles in two BBC 1 dramas, The Treachery Game (1980) and its sequel The Assassination Run (1981) alongside Malcolm Stoddard. She subsequently appeared in Barry Letts' production of Jane Eyre on BBC1 in 1983, opposite Timothy Dalton.[22] She had a leading role in the sitcom The Hello, Goodbye Man opposite Ian Lavender in 1984 for BBC 2, around the same time as a guest appearance in Bergerac.[23] In the early 1990s she was a regular guest panellist on the ITV morning quiz show Crosswits.
Subsequently, Tamm played the characters of Penny Crosbie in the soap opera Brookside from 1993 to 1996,[24] and Yvonne Edwards in the BBC drama Paradise Heights (2002), as well as guest roles in many other television programmes, including Crime Traveller on BBC1, another time travel drama.[25] Tamm returned as Pandora in the second series of the Gallifrey audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions. Her first such appearance was in Gallifrey: Lies (2005). She also appeared (as herself) in a special feature in the 2007 DVD boxed set release of The Key to Time, discussing her experiences on the programme. In August 2009, Tamm made a brief one-week appearance as Orlenda in EastEnders. Reprising the role of Romana, Tamm recorded seven new Doctor Who audio adventures for Big Finish Productions with Tom Baker shortly before her death,[26] which were released in 2013 as series 2 of the Fourth Doctor Adventures.[27]
Personal life and death
editMary Tamm was married to Marcus Ringrose, an insurance executive, from 1978 until her death from cancer on 26 July 2012. They had one daughter, Lauren, born November 1979.[18][19] Tamm had been diagnosed with cancer in 2010[28] (or "18 months" prior to her death[29]) but, as revealed by her agent Barry Langford, had kept her illness secret from all but a handful of her closest friends.[5][30] Ringrose died from a heart attack just hours after Tamm's funeral on 7 August.[29]
Her autobiography, entitled First Generation, was published in September 2009 by Fantom Films. Before her death she had been working on a second part of her autobiography, Second Generation, which was published in 2014.[28]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
1973
|
Tales That Witness Madness | Ginny | (segment 4 "Luau") |
1974
|
The Odessa File | Sigi | |
1976
|
The Likely Lads | Christina | |
1978
|
Rampage | Julie | |
1987
|
Three Kinds of Heat | Piou | |
2000
|
Sorted | School Mother | |
2000
|
Melody's Her 2nd Name | Alex | |
2001
|
Amazons and Gladiators | Zenobia | |
2009
|
Doghouse | Meg Nut |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Hunter's Walk | Ruth | Episode: "Reasonable Suspicion" |
| 1973 | The Donati Conspiracy | Sally Ross | 3 episodes |
| 1973 | Coronation Street | Polly Ogden | 2 episodes |
| 1974 | A Raging Calm | Julie Warner | 3 episodes |
| 1974 | The Inheritors | Liz Fisher | Episode: "Double, Double..." |
| 1974 | Warship | Zimba | Episode: "The Immortal Memory" |
| 1975 | Whodunnit? | Valerie Austin | Episode "Nothing To Declare" |
| 1975 | Public Eye | Jenny | Episode: "How About It, Frank?" |
| 1975 | The Girls of Slender Means | Selina Redwood | All 3 episodes |
| 1978–1979 | Doctor Who | Romana | 26 episodes |
| 1978 | Return of the Saint | Gerri Hanson | Episode: "The Debt Collectors" |
| 1980 | The Assassination Run | Jill Fraser | All 3 episodes |
| 1981 | The Treachery Game | All 3 episodes | |
| 1981 | Only When I Laugh | Leonora | Episode: "Postman's Knock" |
| 1982 | Not the Nine O'Clock News | Various | Episode: "Made in Wales" |
| 1983 | Jane Eyre | Blanche Ingram | 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Bergerac | Leslie West | Episode: "Tug of War" |
| 1984 | The Hello Goodbye Man | Jennifer Reynoldston | All 6 episodes |
| 1986 | Worlds Beyond | Susan Wentworth | Episode: "Guardian of the Past" |
| 1989 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Mrs. Farley | Episode: "The Dream" |
| 1989 | Casualty | Virginia Wilson | Episode: "A Grand in the Hand" |
| 1991 | The Bill | Ms. Crosby | Episode: "Now We're Motoring" |
| 1991 | Perfect Scoundrels | Mary Cooper | Episode: "No Thanks for the Memory" |
| 1993 | Brookside | Penny Crosbie | 6 episodes |
| 1997 | The New Adventures of Robin Hood | Alice | Episode: "Witches of the Abbey" |
| 1997 | Crime Traveller | Mary Chandler | Episode: "A Death in the Family" |
| 1997 | Heartbeat | Marilyn | Episode: "Bad Apple" |
| 1998 | Loved by You | Spy Girl | Episode: "The Spy Girl Who Loved Me" |
| 1999 | CI5: The New Professionals | Maggie | Episode: "Phoenix" |
| 2000 | Doctors | Lyn Baker | Episode: "God's Will" |
| 2000 | Up Rising | House Buyer | Episode: "The Green Man" |
| 2000 | Headless | Portia Loomis | |
| 2001 | The Bill | Moira Sutherland | Episode: "Lick of Paint" |
| 2001 | Jonathan Creek | Vivian Brodie | Episode: "Satan's Chimney" |
| 2002 | Paradise Heights | Yvonne Edwards | 5 episodes |
| 2002 | Coronation Street | Diana Black | Episode: #1.5357 |
| 2005 | Twisted Tales | Mrs. Templeman | Episode: "Flat Four" |
| 2005 | Rose and Maloney | Danuta Richmond | Episode: "Alan Richmond" |
| 2006 | Doctors | Sylvia Crawford | Episode: "Mirror, Mirror" |
| 2006 | Holby City | Fliss Robson | Episode: "Crossing the Line" |
| 2007 | A Class Apart | Mrs Fills | TV film |
| 2007 | Diamond Geezer | Maureen Carlton | Episode: "A Royal Affair" |
| 2007 | Doctors | Jemma Forrester | Episode: "Dying to Please" |
| 2008 | Wire in the Blood | Elektra | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | EastEnders | Orlenda | 4 episodes |
References
edit- ^ "Dr Who star returns to Bradford roots". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ a b Hayward, Anthony (27 July 2012). "Mary Tamm: Actress who made her name as the Time lady Romana in 'Doctor Who'". The Independent. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
- ^ Tony, Jordan (26 July 2012). "Mary Tamm Interview". Doctor Who Appreciation Society. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ "Doctor Who star Mary Tamm dies aged 62". The Guardian. 26 July 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Obituary: Mary Tamm". Daily Telegraph. 26 July 2012.
- ^ "Interview with Mary Tamm". BBC Wiltshire. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ Warwick, David (2012). "Mary Tamm (RADA Obituary)". The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- ^ "Mary Tamm". 26 July 2012 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "The Donati Conspiracy – BBC One London – 14 September 1973 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (2600): 67. 6 September 1973.
- ^ "Warship – BBC One London – 5 November 1974 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (2660): 49. 31 October 1974.
- ^ "The Girls of Slender Means – BBC Two England – 3 May 1975 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (2686): 21. May 1975.
- ^ Programme for Cards on the Table (Vaudeville Theatre): Theatreprint No 80, May 1982
- ^ "Dr Who star returns to Bradford roots". Bradford Telegraph and Argus. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ "Mary Tamm – Doctor Who Interview Archive". drwhointerviews.wordpress.com.
- ^ "MaryTamm.com". Archived from the original on 25 July 2008.
- ^ "Mary Tamm - Interview". Wireless Theatre Limited. April 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2024. The website displays the recording date as 2016, but Tamm's reference to Elizabeth Sladen's death dates the interview to 20-24 April 2011. At minute 11:40, Tamm recalls she made her decision after only 12 episodes (so at the completion of The Stones of Blood, "So after I dunno, three or four stories, you know, 12 episodes, I realised it wasn't really get going anywhere, the character."
- ^ "There's Something About Mary", a DVD featurette on The Key to Time – Special Edition (BBC Video/2 Entertain, 2007).
- ^ a b "MaryTamm Official Website – Mary Tamm in Dr Who". MaryTamm.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2010.
- ^ a b McGuigan, Eddie (3 September 2009). "An interview with Mary Tamm". Outpost Skaro. Archived from the original on 8 November 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
- ^ Rawson-Jones, Ben (19 October 2009). "Doctor Who Interview: Mary Tamm". Digital Spy. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ Tony, Jordan (26 July 2012). "Mary Tamm Interview". Doctor Who Appreciation Society. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
- ^ "Jane Eyre – BBC One London – 6 November 1983 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (3130): 31. 3 November 1983.
- ^ "Bergerac – BBC One London – 28 January 1984 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (3142): 22. 26 January 1984.
- ^ Flerlage, Elizabeth (24 September 2007). "The 5-minute Interview: Mary Tamm, Actress". The Independent. Retrieved 9 October 2009.
- ^ "Crime Traveller – BBC One London – 8 March 1997 – BBC Genome". The Radio Times (3814): 68. 6 March 1997.
- ^ "Doctor Who – Fourth Doctor Adventures – Coming Soon". Big Finish Productions.
- ^ DOCTOR WHO – FOURTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES – RELEASED ITEMS. Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 17 January 2014
- ^ a b "RADA: The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art - Mary Tamm (RADA Obituary)". Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ a b "Doctor Who actor Mary Tamm's husband dies hours after her funeral". TheGuardian.com. 9 August 2012.
- ^ "Mary Tamm's widower 'died of a broken heart'". Daily Telegraph. 24 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
