Romana travelled with the Doctor between The Ribos Operation and The Armageddon Factor.

While travelling alone after the departure of Leela and K9, the Doctor's TARDIS was stopped in mid-flight by the enormously powerful White Guardian, who wanted the Doctor to help locate the six scattered segments of the Key to Time. To assist the Doctor, he gave him a new companion: a Time Lord named Romanadvoratrelundar, (or "Romana" for short).

The relationship was a stormy one. Romana was very much a haughty, aristocratic example of a Time Lord who found The Doctor's laid back style irritating while he found her annoyingly superior. Although she was his intellectual equal and claimed to be higher than him, even, she did find herself frequently in situations where he had to rescue her or where he had to defend her in a traditional male hero female damsel in distress situation. A grudging respect for each other was won, however by the time they had completed the task of compiling the Key of Time, after which Romana chose to regenerate, something that SOME Time Lords could apparently do at a whim.

Mary Tamm was born 22 May 1950 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire. She is a graduate and an associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

She began her acting career on the stage with the Birmingham Repertory Company in 1971, moving to London in 1972 and appearing in the musical Mother Earth. Before her association with Doctor Who, Mary acted in several motion pictures, most notably The Odessa File (1974) and The Likely Lads (1976).

Mary was not initially interested in playing a companion to the Doctor as she believed that the role was merely that of the "damsel in distress". However, she changed her mind when assured by the producers that Romana would be different. While Romana was supposed to be a Time Lady, a member of the Doctor's own people and therefore as capable as the Doctor, the character did tend to be 'damsel in distress' after all and she left the programme after only one season.

Since then, Mary Tamm has acted in both film and television, playing the characters of Penny Crosbie in the soap opera Brookside from 1993 to 1995, Yvonne Edwards in the BBC drama Paradise Heights (2002), as well as guest roles in many other television programmes.

She has returned to the role of Romana in the second series of Gallifrey audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions. Her first appearance in these was in Gallifrey: Lies (2005).

She is married with one daughter.

Film And TV

"Doctor Who" (26 episodes)
The Ribos Operation: Part 1 (2 September 1978) - Romana
The Ribos Operation: Part 2 (9 September 1978) - Romana
The Ribos Operation: Part 3 (16 September 1978) - Romana
The Ribos Operation: Part 4 (23 September 1978) - Romana
The Pirate Planet: Part 1 (30 September 1978) - Romana
The Pirate Planet: Part 2 (7 October 1978) - Romana
The Pirate Planet: Part 3 (14 October 1978) - Romana
The Pirate Planet: Part 4 (21 October 1978) - Romana
The Stones of Blood: Part 1 (28 October 1978) - Romana
The Stones of Blood: Part 2 (4 November 1978) - Romana
The Stones of Blood: Part 3 (11 November 1978) - Romana
The Stones of Blood: Part 4 (18 November 1978) - Romana
The Androids of Tara: Part 1 (25 November 1978) - Romana
The Androids of Tara: Part 2 (2 December 1978) - Romana
The Androids of Tara: Part 3 (9 December 1978) - Romana
The Androids of Tara: Part 4 (16 December 1978) - Romana
The Power of Kroll: Part 1 (23 December 1978) - Romana
The Power of Kroll: Part 2 (30 December 1978) - Romana
The Power of Kroll: Part 3 (6 January 1979) - Romana
The Power of Kroll: Part 4 (13 January 1979) - Romana
The Armageddon Factor: Part 1 (20 January 1979) - Romana
The Armageddon Factor: Part 2 (27 January 1979) - Romana
The Armageddon Factor: Part 3 (3 February 1979) - Romana
The Armageddon Factor: Part 4 (10 February 1979) - Romana
The Armageddon Factor: Part 5 (17 February 1979) - Romana
The Armageddon Factor: Part 6 (24 February 1979) - Romana

A Class Apart (2007) (TV) .... Mrs. Fills
"Holby City" .... Fliss Robson (1 episode, 2006)
- Crossing the Line (2006) TV Episode .... Fliss Robson
"Doctors" .... Lyn Baker / ... (2 episodes, 2000-2006)
- Mirror, Mirror (2006) TV Episode .... Sylvia Crawford
- God's Will (2000) TV Episode .... Lyn Baker
"Rose and Maloney" .... Danuta (1 episode, 2005)
- Episode #2.3 (2005) TV Episode .... Danuta
"Twisted Tales" .... Mrs. Templeman (1 episode, 2005)
- Flat Four (2005) TV Episode .... Mrs. Templeman
"Paradise Heights" (2002) TV Series .... Yvonne Edwards
"Jonathan Creek" .... Vivian Brodie (1 episode, 2001)
- Satan's Chimney (2001) TV Episode .... Vivian Brodie
Amazons and Gladiators (2001) .... Zenobia
"The Bill" .... Moira Sutherland (1 episode, 2001)
- Lick of Paint (2001) TV Episode .... Moira Sutherland
"Headless" (2000) TV Series .... Portia Loomis
Sorted (2000) .... School mother
Melody's Her 2nd Name (2000) .... Alex
"CI5: The New Professionals" .... Maggie (1 episode, 1999)
- Phoenix (1999) TV Episode .... Maggie
"Loved by You" .... Spy Girl (1 episode, 1998)
- The Spy Girl Who Loved Me (1998) TV Episode .... Spy Girl
"Heartbeat" .... Marilyn (1 episode, 1997)
- Bad Apple (1997) TV Episode .... Marilyn
"Crime Traveller" .... Mary Chandler (1 episode, 1997)
- A Death in the Family (1997) TV Episode .... Mary Chandler
"The New Adventures of Robin Hood" .... Aunt Alice (1 episode, 1997)
- Witches of the Abbey (1997) TV Episode .... Aunt Alice
"Tellystack" (1997) TV Series
Privateer 2: The Darkening (1996) (VG) .... Aunt Sister Maria
"Brookside" (1982) TV Series .... Penny Crosbie (unknown episodes, 1993-1995)
Pressing Engagement (1992)
"Perfect Scoundrels" (1 episode, 1991)
- No Thanks for the Memory (1991) TV Episode
"Casualty" .... Virginia Wilson (1 episode, 1989)
- A Grand in the Hand (1989) TV Episode .... Virginia Wilson
"Poirot" .... Louise Farley (1 episode, 1989)
- The Dream (1989) TV Episode .... Louise Farley
Three Kinds of Heat (1987) .... Piou
"Worlds Beyond" (1 episode, 1986)
- Guardian of the Past (1986) TV Episode
"Bergerac" .... Leslie West (1 episode, 1984)
- Tug of War (1984) TV Episode .... Leslie West
"The Hello Goodbye Man" (1984) TV Series .... Jennifer Reynoldston
"Jane Eyre" (1983) (mini) TV Series .... Blanche Ingram
"Only When I Laugh" .... Leonora (1 episode, 1981)
- Postman's Knock (1981) TV Episode .... Leonora
The Treachery Game (1981) (TV) .... Jill Fraser
The Assassination Run (1980) (TV) .... Jill Fraser
"Return of the Saint" .... Gerri Hanson (1 episode, 1978)
- The Debt Collectors (1978) TV Episode .... Gerri Hanson
Rampage (1978) .... Julie
The Likely Lads (1976) .... Christina
The Girls of Slender Means (1975) (TV) .... Selina Redwood
"Public Eye" .... Jenny Hart (1 episode, 1975)
- How About It, Frank? (1975) TV Episode .... Jenny Hart
"Warship" .... Zimba (1 episode, 1974)
- The Immortal Enemy (1974) TV Episode .... Zimba
The Odessa File (1974) .... Sigi
"Coronation Street" (1960) TV Series .... Polly Ogden Tales That Witness Madness (1973) .... Virginia 'Ginny' Pageant
"Hunter's Walk" .... Ruth (1 episode, 1973)
- Reasonable Suspicion (1973) TV Episode .... Ruth