Born: 10th August 1939 (as Frances Meredith Carroll)
Died: 30th March 2014
Episodes Broadcast: 1985, 1987, 1993

Merrie Carroll was born in Leicester, Leicestershire and originally trained to be a theatrical designer before opting to follow her mother into the acting profession. She attended the Aida Foster Stage School and appeared in the 1956 movie Home And Away. Carroll's television debut followed a year later, in an episode of Emergency -- Ward 10. But her career sputtered, and she found herself working as a speech therapist and then as a dresser. Relationships with actors produced sons Dickon and Christopher, the latter fathered by David Orchard and given up for adoption. By this time, however, Carroll had rejuvenated her acting career with stints in repertory theatre, where she began using the stage name “Kate O'Mara”.

O'Mara returned to television with an episode of No Hiding Place in 1964 and was soon working regularly, including on Weavers Green, The Saint, Z Cars and The Main Chance. No fewer than three movie roles materialised in 1968, including the Peter Cushing horror Corruption and comedy Great Catherine with Peter O'Toole. Two Hammer Films thrillers followed in 1970: The Horror Of Frankenstein and The Vampire Lovers, which drew notice for the erotic scenes O'Mara shared with Ingrid Pitt. Wary of typecasting, O'Mara spent the remainder of the Seventies chiefly concentrating on the stage and the small screen, with television credits including The Persuaders!, Spy Trap and The Return Of The Saint. Her most notable role came on the final three seasons of The Brothers, where she co-starred with Colin Baker. In 1971, O'Mara married actor Jeremy Young -- who had been in Sixties Doctor Who stories 100,000 BC and Mission To The Unknown -- but they divorced in 1976.

O'Mara spent 1986 in the United States, appearing on the prime-time soap opera Dynasty

The Eighties began with O'Mara accepting a starring role in the short-lived soap opera Triangle. She then appeared as the villainous Time Lord known as the Rani during Doctor Who's 1985 season. The Mark Of The Rani saw O'Mara reunited with Baker, who was now playing the Sixth Doctor. In the United States, this was the heyday of the prime-time soap opera, and O'Mara spent 1986 appearing regularly in Dynasty. But although she had signed a five-year contract, O'Mara became unhappy living in California, and obtained her release. Upon her return to the United Kingdom, she rejoined Doctor Who for 1987's Time And The Rani, which saw Sylvester McCoy debut as the Seventh Doctor. O'Mara wrapped up the decade with the first of two seasons on another soap opera, Howards' Way.

O'Mara's career began to wind down in the Nineties, although she played the Rani again for the 1993 charity special Dimensions In Time, which celebrated Doctor Who's thirtieth anniversary. She also appeared in episodes of Absolutely Fabulous and The New Adventures Of Robin Hood. In 1990, O'Mara published a lifestyle book called Game Plan: A Woman's Survival Kit. She followed this a year later with When She Was Bad, the first of two romance novels. Between 1993 and 1996, O'Mara was married to actor Richard Willis, who had been in the 1980 Doctor Who serial Full Circle.

In 2000, O'Mara played the Rani for a final time in the audio drama The Rani Reaps The Whirlwind from BBV. She then had regular roles in Bad Girls and Family Affairs, while also appearing in installments of Crossroads and Doctors. O'Mara's autobiography, Vamp Until Ready: A Life Laid Bare, was published by Robson Press in 2003. Much of O'Mara's later life was dedicated to caring for her son, Dickon, who attempted suicide on multiple occasions; sadly, he was successful in 2012. The same year, she made her last television appearance in an episode of Benidorm. O'Mara was planning to reprise the role of the Rani for the range of Doctor Who audio dramas from Big Finish Productions when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She died on March 30th, 2014.