Who's that high-speed girl?
- Publication: The Times
- Date: 1996-01-20
- Author: Eithne Power
- Page: Car 96, p. 8
- Language: English
Mary Tamm began travelling in a Mini and ended up in the Tardis. Eithne Power reports Mary Tamm, half White Russian, half Estonian, born in Bradford, came into her own 17 years ago as Dr Who's dynamic assistant, Romana. Since then, she has worked constantly (most recently in Brookside), married a working Lloyd's name, sold houses to pay off Lloyd's and taken the Formula Ford drivers' course at Brands Hatch. It must have been all that travelling in time that gave her a taste for speed.
One of the reasons she gave it up was that she had absolutely no fear behind the wheel and was probably a bit reckless; she admits it never entered her head that she might get killed. How did you learn to drive? With a one-man driving school and a lot of pent-up longing in my mid-twenties. At home in Bradford we didn't have a car, and I was constantly standing at bus stops vowing, one day, one day I'll learn to drive and I'll be free. What was your first car? A green Mini that I bought for Pounds 200 from a friend of a friend of a friend who had a friend, a mechanic, who told me it was a sound machine even though it had four bald tyres that escaped my notice at the time. After that I had four more Minis in different colours before graduating to a Mercedes! The day after I passed my test, I drove on the motorway to Manchester in that first Mini, dripping blood after having had a tooth out. I drove with one hand, drugged to the eyeballs and mopped up the blood with the other. What car do you drive now? My husband's BMW, and my own wonderful little Triumph Acclaim. It's a great little runaround I'm teaching my daughter, Lauren, to drive in it. We use a disused airfield, and we're extremely decorous! Do you enjoy driving? Does a fish enjoy swimming? I adore it, maybe because I came to it so late. As a girl, I was always sort of stuck. I haunted bus shelters. Now that I can go where I want when I want, I'm like Toad of Toad Hall. I sometimes feel incredibly happy driving in the country, Guns'n'Roses blasting away on the stereo or Carmina Burana. Carl Orff conjures up visions of men and horses and armour and stuff like that ... the simple pleasures of life. What is your dream car? An Aston Martin Volante. I like a car that goes from zero to 60 in three seconds. There's a kind of ecstasy when you're going at speed, it's probably to do with the urge to escape. What is your most hated car? The Ford Sierra. Every time someone cuts me up, it's inevitably a man in a Ford Sierra. The Sierra pretends to be sporty, but it just can't deliver. What is your worst habit in a car? Swearing at men in Ford Sierras and making absolutely hideous faces at myself in the driving mirror. I pull my lips right up over the gums so that I look like a lipless toothead. A jogger spotted me the other day at traffic lights and clutched his heart in terror. My facial aerobics make me feel good, but they're pretty horrible for onlookers. What infuriates you most about other drivers? People who dawdle around in the outside lane at 80, 90 or 100 mostly they are driving Ford Sierras. What is the most unusual thing you've done in your car? I managed to park about 18cms from the kerb when the steering wheel came off in my hands on the A40 while I was going to a Dr Who rehearsal. I had to do everything simultaneously, brakes, handbrake, gears. I didn't panic. I'm good in a crisis; just as well, because I had a lot in those Minis. Have you ever had points on your licence? Yes, but not for speeding, as one might expect. I went over a double white line five years ago and got an endorsement. What would you do if you became Secretary of State for Transport? What they do in Amsterdam and fine everyone driving alone into the city centre. It seems to work there. And again, like in Holland, I'd introduce bicycle paths. I've got a bike myself, but knowing there are other drivers out there like me I am afraid to ride it. What safety precautions do you take as a woman driver? Most of the dangers I run I provoke myself by cutting other drivers up. But I always lock my doors and find that picking up the mobile phone sees them off quite quickly.
Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org
- APA 6th ed.: Power, Eithne (1996-01-20). Who's that high-speed girl?. The Times p. Car 96, p. 8.
- MLA 7th ed.: Power, Eithne. "Who's that high-speed girl?." The Times [add city] 1996-01-20, Car 96, p. 8. Print.
- Chicago 15th ed.: Power, Eithne. "Who's that high-speed girl?." The Times, edition, sec., 1996-01-20
- Turabian: Power, Eithne. "Who's that high-speed girl?." The Times, 1996-01-20, section, Car 96, p. 8 edition.
- Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Who's that high-speed girl? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_that_high-speed_girl%3F | work=The Times | pages=Car 96, p. 8 | date=1996-01-20 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=12 March 2025 }}</ref>
- Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Who's that high-speed girl? | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Who%27s_that_high-speed_girl%3F | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=12 March 2025}}</ref>
