Mary Tamm

{{Infobox person

| name = Mary Tamm

| image = Romana (Doctor Who).jpg

| caption = Tamm as Romana I in Doctor Who

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1950|3|22|df=y}}

| birth_place = Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2012|7|26|1950|3|22|df=y}}

| death_place = London, England

| yearsactive = 1970–2012

| alma_mater = Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

| occupation = Actress

| spouse = {{marriage|Marcus Ringrose|1978}}

| children = 1

}}

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,{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4652052.Mary_meets_an_old_friend/|title=Dr Who star returns to Bradford roots|work=Bradford Telegraph and Argus|date=28 September 2009|access-date=9 October 2009}} appearing 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 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/mary-tamm-actress-who-made-her-name-as-the-time-lady-romana-in-doctor-who-7982455.html|title=Mary Tamm: Actress who made her name as the Time lady Romana in 'Doctor Who'|first=Anthony|last=Hayward|work=The Independent|date=27 July 2012|access-date=11 January 2024|language=en-UK}}{{cite web|first=Jordan|last=Tony|title=Mary Tamm Interview|url=http://www.www.dwasonline.co.uk/node/701|publisher=Doctor Who Appreciation Society|date=26 July 2012|access-date=30 April 2024}} 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. At age 11, she won a scholarship to attend Bradford Girls' Grammar School and joined the city's Civic Theatre.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/jul/26/doctor-who-mary-tamm-dies?newsfeed=true|title=Doctor Who star Mary Tamm dies aged 62|newspaper=The Guardian|date=26 July 2012|access-date=26 July 2012}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/9430375/Mary-Tamm.html|title=Obituary: Mary Tamm|work=Daily Telegraph|date=26 July 2012}}{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/content/articles/2007/09/21/mary_tamm_interview_feature.shtml|title=Interview with Mary Tamm|publisher=BBC Wiltshire|date=21 September 2007|access-date=9 October 2009}} She was a graduate and an associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she studied from 1969 to 1971.{{cite web |url=http://www.rada.ac.uk/alumni/obituaries/mary-tamm |title=Mary Tamm (RADA Obituary) |first=David |last=Warwick |work=The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art |year=2012 |access-date=26 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728043926/http://www.rada.ac.uk/alumni/obituaries/mary-tamm |archive-date=28 July 2014 }}

Acting career

Tamm began acting on the stage with the Birmingham Repertory Company in 1971.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/9430375/Mary-Tamm.html|title=Mary Tamm|date=26 July 2012|via=www.telegraph.co.uk}} 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.{{cite journal|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8aa42e3d3741458e820e4fd9a728ef6e|title=The Donati Conspiracy – BBC One London – 14 September 1973 – BBC Genome|issue=2600|pages=67|journal=The Radio Times|date=6 September 1973}} This was followed by an episode of Warship in 1974.{{cite journal|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/95cc9d2367904670a63ae232510c2628|title=Warship – BBC One London – 5 November 1974 – BBC Genome|issue=2660|pages=49|journal=The Radio Times|date=31 October 1974}} In 1975, she featured in Muriel Spark's The Girls of Slender Means on BBC2.{{cite journal|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ab2f46df717c44aaada36f23b000a2d9|title=The Girls of Slender Means – BBC Two England – 3 May 1975 – BBC Genome|issue=2686|pages=21|journal=The Radio Times|date=May 1975}} 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.Programme for Cards on the Table (Vaudeville Theatre): Theatreprint No 80, May 1982

Tamm is best known for her role as Romana I in the BBC's science fiction television series Doctor Who,{{cite news|url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/4652052.Mary_meets_an_old_friend/|title=Dr Who star returns to Bradford roots|work=Bradford Telegraph and Argus|date=28 September 2009|access-date=9 October 2009}} 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,{{cite web|url=https://drwhointerviews.wordpress.com/category/mary-tamm/|title=Mary Tamm – Doctor Who Interview Archive|website=drwhointerviews.wordpress.com}} 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.{{cite web|title=MaryTamm.com |url=http://www.marytamm.com/page3.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725000339/http://www.marytamm.com/page3.htm |archive-date=25 July 2008 }}{{cite web|first=|last=|title=Mary Tamm - Interview|url=https://www.wirelesstheatrecompany.co.uk/podcast/mary-tamm-interview|publisher=Wireless Theatre Limited|date=April 2011|access-date=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." 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."There's Something About Mary", a DVD featurette on The Key to Time – Special Edition (BBC Video/2 Entertain, 2007). 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.marytamm.com/page6.htm|title=MaryTamm Official Website – Mary Tamm in Dr Who|publisher=MaryTamm.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106014719/http://www.marytamm.com/page6.htm|archive-date=6 January 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.outpostskaro.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=108:an-interview-with-india-fisher&catid=62:interviews&Itemid=98|title=An interview with Mary Tamm|publisher=Outpost Skaro|first=Eddie|last=McGuigan|date=3 September 2009|access-date=12 November 2012|archive-date=8 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091108060223/http://www.outpostskaro.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=108:an-interview-with-india-fisher&catid=62:interviews&Itemid=98|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/s7/doctor-who/interviews/a182536/mary-tamm-doctor-who.html|title=Doctor Who Interview: Mary Tamm|work=Digital Spy|first=Ben|last=Rawson-Jones|date=19 October 2009|access-date=26 July 2012}} 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.{{cite web|first=Jordan|last=Tony|title=Mary Tamm Interview|url=http://www.www.dwasonline.co.uk/node/701|publisher=Doctor Who Appreciation Society|date=26 July 2012|access-date=30 April 2024}}

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.{{cite journal|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7915b897e4b144b7ba3cf038a0cd4621|title=Jane Eyre – BBC One London – 6 November 1983 – BBC Genome|issue=3130|pages=31|journal=The Radio Times|date=3 November 1983}} 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.{{cite journal|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/22fde045b97a47dda4934dd576e83678|title=Bergerac – BBC One London – 28 January 1984 – BBC Genome|issue=3142|pages=22|journal=The Radio Times|date=26 January 1984}} 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,{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/the-5minute-interview-mary-tamm-actress-403300.html|title=The 5-minute Interview: Mary Tamm, Actress|work=The Independent|first=Elizabeth|last=Flerlage|date=24 September 2007|access-date=9 October 2009}} 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.{{cite journal|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/fe67fcecfff24991810e637600e26ed8|title=Crime Traveller – BBC One London – 8 March 1997 – BBC Genome|issue=3814|pages=68|journal=The Radio Times|date=6 March 1997}} 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,{{cite web|url=http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/coming_soon_reverse/doctor-who---fourth-doctor-adventures|title=Doctor Who – Fourth Doctor Adventures – Coming Soon|publisher=Big Finish Productions}} which were released in 2013 as series 2 of the Fourth Doctor Adventures.[http://www.bigfinish.com/ranges/released/doctor-who---fourth-doctor-adventures DOCTOR WHO – FOURTH DOCTOR ADVENTURES – RELEASED ITEMS]. Big Finish Productions. Retrieved 17 January 2014

Personal life and death

Mary 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. Tamm had been diagnosed with cancer in 2010 (or "18 months" prior to her death) but, as revealed by her agent Barry Langford, had kept her illness secret from all but a handful of her closest friends.{{cite news|title=Mary Tamm's widower 'died of a broken heart'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9632534/Mary-Tamms-widower-died-of-a-broken-heart.html|access-date=26 July 2015|work=Daily Telegraph|date=24 October 2012}} Ringrose died from a heart attack just hours after Tamm's funeral on 7 August.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/aug/09/doctor-who-mary-tamm-husband|title = Doctor Who actor Mary Tamm's husband dies hours after her funeral|website = TheGuardian.com|date = 9 August 2012}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.rada.ac.uk/alumni/obituaries/mary-tamm |title=RADA: The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art - Mary Tamm (RADA Obituary) |access-date=2 September 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328012911/https://www.rada.ac.uk/alumni/obituaries/mary-tamm |archive-date=28 March 2016 }}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Notes

| Tales That Witness Madness

| Ginny

| (segment 4 "Luau")

| The Odessa File

| Sigi

| The Likely Lads

| Christina

| Rampage

| Julie

| Three Kinds of Heat

| Piou

| Sorted

| School Mother

| Melody's Her 2nd Name

| Alex

| Amazons and Gladiators

| Zenobia

| Doghouse

| Meg Nut

=Television=

class="wikitable" ! 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	rowspan=2\|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