Book review
Written by Mary Tamm
Fantom Films Limited
Release date 14 September 2009

The life and times of the actress who is far more than just Romana…

With a sense of glamour and beauty more suited to a Roxy Music album cover than a ramshackle children’s TV show in the late 1970s, Mary Tamm’s performance as Time Lady Romana captivated millions during her season on Doctor Who. But as her autobiography proves, there is considerably more to the Bradford-born actress than this one role.

It’s clearly a heartfelt book, as displayed in the segments in which Tamm traces her Estonian roots. In fact, there's a distinct element of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? here as she learns more about her heritage and, in turn, the reader learns more about her. It’s inspiring stuff, and highly thought provoking.

There’s a lot of humour included in Tamm’s writing as well. A first date with her future husband starts strangely when he arrives at her house to pick her up, only to settle down and watch a James Bond film before they leave! On getting the part of Romana, Tamm and former leading lady, Louise Jameson, swap notes with the outgoing companion advising the new girl ‘not to take any nonsense from Tom!’

In fact, the Doctor Who material (covering the first half of her season’s worth of adventures – making a second volume a welcome inevitability) is excellent, with some unfamiliar stories about the making of her episodes recalled in great detail.

Her journey also takes in her roles in projects as diverse as The Likely Lads, The Odessa File, Return of the Saint and Coronation Street as well as the portmanteau horror movie Tales That Witness Madness, with anecdotes written in a friendly, breezy style that tumble pleasantly off the page.

An excellent read in its own right, this book deserves to find an audience beyond the Doctor Who faithful. Roll on volume two… Jonathan Wilkins

VERDICT: 9/10
Stirring stuff. There’s definitely something about Mary…

Click here to read an interview with Mary Tamm.