Romana (Doctor Who)

**Romana**, short for **Romanadvoratrelundar**,  is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series _Doctor Who_. She is a Time Lady from the planet Gallifrey, and she was a companion of the Fourth Doctor. Because she was a Time Lord, Romana was able to regenerate, having two on-screen incarnations with somewhat different personalities (called Romana I and Romana II by fans). Romana I was played by Mary Tamm from 1978 to 1979. When she became pregnant and chose not to return for another series, the part was recast. Romana II was played by Lalla Ward from 1979 to 1981.

## Romana I

The White Guardian assigns Romana to help the Doctor during his quest for the Key to Time.  Romana first appears in _The Ribos Operation_, and was intended as a contrast to her predecessor, the savage Leela.  Romana is initially haughty and somewhat arrogant, looking down on the Doctor (whom she considers to be her academic inferior; she obtained a triple first at the academy, while the Doctor passed with only 51 %, on his second attempt) and responding to his initial resentment at her presence with icy put-down<nowiki/>s. However, she soon gains an appreciation for the Doctor's experience and sense of adventure, and begins to respect him as a teacher.

## Romana II

The introduction of Romana's second incarnation in _Destiny of the Daleks_, a script credited to Terry Nation, but with several changes by script editor Douglas Adams, treats the concept of regeneration humorously.  At the beginning of the serial, Romana changes bodily forms several times, like she was trying on different clothes, before deciding to take the form of Princess Astra, who had been played by Lalla Ward in the final serial of Season 16, _The Armageddon Factor_.

Romana II enjoys a more intimate relationship with the Doctor than her first incarnation. Some fans have assumed that she had a romantic relationship with the Doctor although a relationship was never shown or intended by the writers. In many ways, she is the companion most like the Doctor - besides being of the same race and close to the same intelligence, she occasionally mimics his sense of style, wields her own sonic screwdriver and can occasionally get the better of him in moments of banter and more practical situations. As her practical experience develops, she also becomes more assured and capable in the situations she finds herself in.

Her final television appearance was in _Warriors' Gate_, where, along with  the robot dog K-9, she leaves to forge her own path in the parallel universe of E-space. She also appears briefly in the 20th Anniversary special _The Five Doctors_ through the reuse of footage from the uncompleted story _Shada_ because Tom Baker refused to come back.

After the departure of both Romana I and II, both versions of the character also appeared very briefly in flashback sequences during the Fourth Doctor's regeneration in _Logopolis_ as well as the Fifth Doctor's mind-copy in _Resurrection of the Daleks_.

She would also be mentioned in _Castrovalva_ during the Fifth Doctor's post-regenerative confusion, as well as _Arc of Infinity_, where the Fifth Doctor, in response to a reprimand from the High Council of Time Lords for "leaving her behind", retorts that she "chose to remain in E-Space".

In the new series the doctor says that all of the Time Lords apart from him were killed in the time war. Whether Romana was killed with the others, or is still alive in E-Space or elsewhere, has not been specifically established on screen.

## Appearances in other media

An article by Russell T Davies in the _Doctor Who Annual 2006_ states that Romana was President of the Time Lords during the Time War against the Daleks (see below), which ended with Gallifrey being destroyed.

### Novels

In the licensed Virgin New Adventures novel _Blood Harvest_ by Terrance Dicks, Romana II leaves E-Space and returns to Gallifrey with the help of the Seventh Doctor.  In _Goth Opera_ by Paul Cornell, from the complementary Missing Adventures series, she is given a seat on the High Council of Time Lords. In New Adventures' _Happy Endings_, also by Cornell, it is revealed that Romana has become Lady President of Gallifrey. Romana's presidency is reflected in the later novels and in her appearances (voiced by Ward) in audio dramas from Big Finish Productions.  Romana appears in independent charity novel Time's Champion, in the role of President of the Time Lords.

In the BBC Books Eighth Doctor Adventures novels, Romana undergoes a second regeneration, and her new incarnation (Romana III, whose appearance was modelled on silent movie actress Louise Brooks) is far less sympathetic and far more ruthless than the other two.

### Audio plays

Romana II appeared pseudonymously in a series of audio plays produced in the early 2000s by BBV. In this series, Lalla Ward played a character who appeared with K-9 in an unnamed parallel universe.  This character is called the Mistress (which was what K-9 called Romana in the television series).  Because of an unusual copyright situation in which BBV was able to license K-9 but not Romana or other _Doctor Who_ elements, the Mistress is not explicitly called Romana.  For similar reasons, the parallel universe (obviously intended to reflect Romana's exile in E-Space) is called a "pocket universe" in the series' packaging.

In Big Finish's regular line of _Doctor Who_ audio stories, Ward joined the Sixth Doctor in _The Apocalypse Element_, in which Romana is Lady President of Gallifrey. In _Zagreus_, Romana II is forced to banish the Eighth Doctor from the universe as he has become a danger to it following his infection by the forces of "anti-time".  Following on from this, she is featured in a number of audio plays with former Doctor companion Leela (played by Louise Jameson) under the umbrella title of _Gallifrey_.

The series ends on a cliffhanger, with Gallifrey on the brink of economic and social collapse as well as in danger of being overrun by a Free Time virus, while most of the characters are trapped with no apparent means of escape.

### Television

- Season 16
- _The Ribos Operation_ (Romana I)
- _The Pirate Planet_
- _The Stones of Blood_
- _The Androids of Tara_
- _The Power of Kroll_
- _The Armageddon Factor_
- Season 17
- _Destiny of the Daleks_ (Romana II)
- _City of Death_
- _The Creature from the Pit_
- _Nightmare of Eden_
- _The Horns of Nimon_
- _Shada_ (not completed or transmitted)
- Season 18
- _The Leisure Hive_
- _Meglos_
- _Full Circle_
- _State of Decay_
- _Warriors' Gate_
- 20th anniversary special
- _The Five Doctors_ (footage from _Shada_)
- 30th anniversary special
- _Dimensions in Time_

### Audio dramas

- BBV
- _K-9: The Choice_ (pseudonymous appearance)
- _K-9: The Search_ (pseudonymous appearance)
- Big Finish Productions
- _The Apocalypse Element_
- _Neverland_
- _Zagreus_
- _Shada_ (webcast on BBCi, later released on CD)
- _Gallifrey: Weapon of Choice_
- _Gallifrey: Square One_
- _Gallifrey: The Inquiry_
- _Gallifrey: A Blind Eye_
- _Gallifrey: Lies_
- _Gallifrey: Spirit_
- _Gallifrey: Pandora_
- _Gallifrey: Insurgency_
- _Gallifrey: Imperiatrix_
- _Gallifrey: Fractures_
- _Gallifrey: Warfare_
- _Gallifrey: Appropriation_
- _Gallifrey: Mindbomb_
- _Gallifrey: Panacea_
- _The Beautiful People_
- _Ferril's Folly_ (Romana I)

### Novels

- Virgin Missing Adventures
- _Goth Opera_ by Paul Cornell
- _The Romance of Crime_ by Gareth Roberts
- _The English Way of Death_ by Gareth Roberts
- _The Shadow of Weng-Chiang_ by David A. McIntee
- _The Well-Mannered War_ by Gareth Roberts
- Virgin New Adventures
- _Blood Harvest_ by Terrance Dicks
- _Happy Endings_ by Paul Cornell
- _Lungbarrow_ by Marc Platt
- Eighth Doctor Adventures
- _The Eight Doctors_ by Terrance Dicks
- _The Shadows of Avalon_ by Paul Cornell
- _The Ancestor Cell_ by Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole
- Past Doctor Adventures
- _Tomb of Valdemar_ by Simon Messingham
- _Heart of TARDIS_ by Dave Stone
- _Festival of Death_ by Jonathan Morris
- Independent Novels
- Time's Champion

### Short stories

- "Glass" by Tara Samms
- "Return of the Spiders" by Gareth Roberts
- "Special Occasions 1: The Not So Sinister Sponge" by Gareth Roberts and Clayton Hickman
- "Special Occasions 2: Do You Love Anyone Enough?" by Norman Ashby
- "Special Occasions 3: Better Take Care" by Steve Burford
- "Special Occasions 4: Playing with Toys" by David Agnew
- "I Was A Monster!!!" by Joseph Lidster
- "The Lying Old Witch in the Wardrobe" by Mark Michalowski
- "Doing Time" by Lance Parkin
- "O, Darkness" by John Binns
- "The Time Lord's Story" by Iain McLaughlin and Claire Bartlett
- "The Little Things" by Paul Beardsley
- "The Clanging Chimes of Doom" by Jonathan Morris
- "Present Tense" by Ian Potter
- "Suitors, Inc." by Paul Magrs
- "Life from Lifelessness" by Keith R.A. DeCandido
- "The Glarn Strategy" by Brian Dooley
- "All Snug in Their Beds" by Scott Alan Woodard
- "Good Queen, Bad Queen, I Queen, You Queen" by Terri Osborne
- "Breadcrumbs" by James Moran

### Comics

- "Terror on Xaboi" by Paul Crompton (_Doctor Who Annual 1980_) - 1st incarnation
- "The Weapon" by Paul Crompton (_Doctor Who Annual 1980_) - 1st incarnation
- "Every Dog Has His Day" by Mel Powell (_Doctor Who Annual 1981_) - 2nd incarnation
- "Victims" by Dan Abnett, Colin Andrew and Enid Orc (_Doctor Who Magazine_ 212–214) - 2nd incarnation
- "The Seventh Segment" by Gareth Roberts, Paul Peart and Elitta Fell (_Doctor Who Magazine_ Summer Special 1995) - 1st incarnation

## Other websites

- Romana I on the BBC's _Doctor Who_ website
- Romana II on the BBC's _Doctor Who_ website