Doctor Who Actress Mary Tamm Has Died

Doctor Who actress Mary Tamm has died at the age of 62.

The news was confirmed by Tamm’s agent earlier this morning (Thursday 26th July); the actress passed away following an 18 month battle with cancer. Tamm is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the first incarnation of Romana in the BBC sci-fi series Doctor Who. The actress appeared alongside Tom Baker in the series in 1978/1979 in a season of connected stories referred to as “The Key to Time“.

Tamm appeared in Doctor Who for a single season before deciding to leave and was replaced by Lalla Ward – taking over the role with the character regenerated. Ward was Tamm’s suggestion as the two actresses appeared alongside together in Tamm’s last Doctor Who story The Armageddon Factor. In recent years Tamm was reprised her role for several Big Finish audio dramas.

While Tamm will perhaps be best known for her association with Doctor Who the actress had a wide variety of other roles across her career. In the mid 1990s she played Penny Crosbie in Channel Four soap opera Brookside and a few years ago appeared in several episodes of EastEnders. Amongst Tamm’s other roles were appearances in Poirot, Paradise Heights, Doctors, Holby City, Wire in the Blood, Rose and Malone, Crime Traveller and Coronation Street.

Last month fellow Doctor Who actress Caroline John, who played Dr Liz Shaw, passed away following a battle with cancer.