Mary Tamm, stage and screen actress best-known for her portrayal of Romana in Doctor Who, has died aged 62.

Born in Yorkshire to Estonian parents, Tamm was a graduate and associate member of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her professional career began at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 1971, where she worked alongside Derek Jacobi, Ronnie Barker and Joan Sims, and she appeared in a variety of theatre, film and television roles throughout the 1970s. She starred in The Odessa Files alongside Jon Voight and with Rodney Bewes and James Bolam in the movie adaptation of The Likely Lads, while her TV work included Coronation Street and Return of the Saint.

It was in 1978 that she landed the part for which she is most fondly remembered. Doctor Who producer Philip Hinchcliffe was looking for a someone to replace the outgoing Louise Jameson, and had decided to break with the long-established tradition of assistants playing damsel in distress to the Doctor’s hero.

Instead of another ordinary human being from contemporary Earth – or a similarly intellectually inferior character such as Jameson’s Leela – the new companion would be not only the equal of the Doctor, mentally and culturally, but of the same race: a Time Lady to match the Time Lord.

Romana (short for Romanadvoratrelundar) was witty, spirited and stylish, but her relationship with the Doctor was initially strained. He resented having an associate foisted upon him by the High Council of Gallifrey; she disparaged being forced into an association with someone she considered academically beneath her.

Eventually, the frostiness between them melted to mirror the off-screen friendship Tamm had developed with leading man Tom Baker, and many fans consider the six stories in which they appeared to be among the best in the programme’s history. She left the show after The Armageddon Factor in 1979, with Lalla Ward taking over the role of Romana, and although her departure was on amiable terms, Tamm later stated she felt her character had become more of an archetypal Doctor Who girl than had originally been intended.

Mary Tamm continued to work on stage and in television for the rest of her life, with some of her more noted guest screen appearances including parts in Bergerac, Casualty, Jonathan Creek and Wire in the Blood. She featured regularly in Brookside in the mid-1990s as Penny Crosbie, in a variety of roles in Doctors between 2000 and 2007, and as Yvonne Edwards in the BBC drama Paradise Heights with Neil Morrissey and Ralf Little in 2002. Her most recent TV appearance was as Orlenda in EastEnders in 2009.

Tamm maintained a strong link with Doctor Who after her departure, reprising the character of Romana on a number of occasions for Big Finish Audio Productions and appearing on several BBC Worldwide Doctor Who DVD releases as interviewee, commentator and presenter. She published an autobiography, First Generation, in 2009 and was working on a follow-up at the time of her death.

Steven Moffat reminisced: “I remember Mary Tamm’s first appearance so vividly – the ice Queen on the TARDIS. The Time Lady who thought the Doctor was her companion. Perfectly brought to life by Mary, with such style and wit, you always thought she could have kicked the Doctor out of the time machine and got on with the adventure herself. A generation of little girls threw away the idea of being an assistant, and decided to fly the TARDIS for themselves.”

“She was a darling companion and wonderfully witty and kind,” commented Tom Baker.

She is survived by her husband Marcus Ringrose, daughter Lauren, and grandson Max.