If you are familiar with the old/classic Doctor Who series with Tom Baker (Fourth Doctor), I am pretty sure you will remember Mary Tamm, the actress who portrayed Romana (first generation). This was the role that Mary Tamm was mostly well-known for.
Mary Tamm’s character in Doctor Who, Romana (short for Romanadvoratrelundar) was introduced in the “Key to Time” series of Season 16 during the reign of the Fourth Doctor. During her character development on the well-known British sci-fi show, Tamm did not agree with the direction of her character and resigned, giving the role of Romana to Lalla Ward in Season 17.
Apart from her involvement with Doctor Who, Tamm starred in various other films, such as: The Odessa File, The Likely Lads, and Amazons and Gladiators. (Source: IMDb).
The official Doctor Who Twitter account of the BBC announced Mary Tamm’s death in the tweet provided below:
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Doctor Who legend Mary Tamm who played the Time Lord Romana – http://t.co/fNqzTimm
Mary Tamm was 62 years old when she died on July 26th of 2012 after battling an 18-month stretch of cancer. Various fans of Tamm posted their condolences via Twitter:
Deeply saddened to hear that Mary Tamm has passed away. Yet another very dear part of Doctor Who, and indeed of my childhood, has left us.
Very sad news about Mary Tamm. As the first Romana, she was an excellent foil for Tom Baker during the Key To Time series. RIP Mary.
RIP Mary Tamm. You will always be the definitive Romana to me :'(
Rest in peace Mary Tamm another Doctor Who legend to leave us in body but never in soul
So sorry to hear about Mary Tamm passing away. She’ll always be Romana and forever in the hearts of Doctor Who fans.