John Lavalie at 23:34, 3 April 2025

2025-04-03T23:34:43Z

John Lavalie: Created page with "{{article | publication = Evening Press | file = 1978-07-19 Evening Press.jpg | px = 450 | height = | width = | date = 1978-07-19 | author = | pages = | language = English..."

2025-04-03T23:34:32Z

Created page with "{{article | publication = Evening Press | file = 1978-07-19 Evening Press.jpg | px = 450 | height = | width = | date = 1978-07-19 | author = | pages = | language = English..."

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| text = Just what the Doctor ordered!

A treat for the Daleks

The green eyes flash beneath a crown of falling black tresses. And there is more than a hint of determination in the pretty chin.

But then Mary Tamm has discovered that you have to be tough to live in a police box, never know what century it is, and find yourself in another galaxy at the touch of a button!

She plays Romona, the doctor's new assistant in the latest Dr. Who series, back on TV shortly.

Mary, who steps into the £15,000-a-year role, after fierce competition for the part, thinks she's tailor-made for the series.

"My parents were refugees from Estonia," she says, "and they've always Impressed on me the importance of survival.

They came to Britain literally with nothing and built up a life for themselves."

Mary's no-nonsense approach to life will find expression in the character of Romona

"she's a very tough lady. A Time Lady, naturally. She has been sent to keep an eye on the mischievous doctor."

For the record, Romona will be 120 years old when she teams up with the doctor, played by Tom Baker.

As for 27-year-old Mary, she declares: "I'm old enough to have got the stardust out of my eyes. In this business, you're simply a commodity."

Unlike many actresses, Mary has a varied life outside show-business. In addition to Estonian "we still speak it at home in Yorkshire" she is fluent in French and German and has spent a lot of time drifting around Europe.

The most valuable period of her life was working on a kibbutz in Israel, which, she says, taught her the meaning of work.

"When I got back to England I had to take any job that was going. I became a waitress, on my feet for hours. But I'd been well prepared."

Mary says that Romona is a great contrast to previous Dr. Who girls - and certainly to her immediate predecessor, the scantily-clad Leela, who was the darling of the dads.

"Romona has a mind of her own and is not afraid to speak it," Mary told me.

To secure the part was no pushover for Mary Tamm. She was up against competition from 500 other beauties.

And after Dr. Who? With a toss of those brown tresses, Mary says: "I've no idea. I'm not that calculating.

"I don't think further ahead than tomorrow nor further back than yesterday -except when I'm with Dr. Who, of course!"

Caption: MARY TAMM... practising to feel 120 years old.

Spelling correction: Romana

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A treat for the Daleks - Revision history

John Lavalie at 23:34, 3 April 2025

John Lavalie: Created page with "{{article | publication = Evening Press | file = 1978-07-19 Evening Press.jpg | px = 450 | height = | width = | date = 1978-07-19 | author = | pages = | language = English..."