Police Rescue answers Tammy's S.O.S

After a run of outs, the feisty actress knows that the force is with her...

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Police rescue's new recruit, Tammy MacIntosh, admits she's shed a few tears lately. Considering the sequence of emotional and physical setbacks she has had since quitting The Flying Doctors at the end of 1990, her confession is hardly surprising. Tammy had a run of bad luck after breaking a collarbone in a celebrity motorcycle race. The injury destroyed her plans to star in the film Garbo, a $4.5 million project featuring Steve Kearney and NEill Gladwin.

Tammy took another blow when shooting on the Jason Donovan film. It's Now Or Never, was cancelled at the last minute. Tammy was to have co-starred, but the finance fell through. Her prospects seemed to improve when she signed for the Nine Network adult drama series Chances, but a highly controversial nude scene spoiled the experience.

The turnaround came with a role in the Network Ten sitcom Bingles, produced by The Comedy Company's Ian McFadyen.

Tammy regained confidence and determined to land the Police Rescue role when asked to audition. "I rang my agent every day for a month to find out if I'd got the Police Rescue Part," an enthusiastic Tammy says. "When I found out I had the role, I just burst into tears. I couldn't believe it."

Tammy, who begins filming the ABC drama series next month, adds: "I feel very lucky about the way things have turned out. I really wanted to get this role and I can tell you they (the producers) almost killed me with emotion in the audition. I just spurted it all out."

Tammy, it seems, is aptly cast as Constable Kathy Orland in  Police Rescue. Orland is outgoing, physical and resilient... traits attributable to Tammy.

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"With Police Rescue, I have a definite direction and detailed character analysis," Tammy says. "I'd never do a long-running soap again. I got stale in The Flying Doctors because there wasn't enough for me to do." Tammy admits, however, that there's a disadvantage to the new job. She will be forced to move from Melbourne to Sydney for shooting - away from her boyfriend, restaurateur Glen Coburn. Tammy envisages plenty of commuting during the shoot.

"I do tend to get a little homesick so I'm planning to come back to Melbourne on as many weekends as I can," she says, "I'm sure everything will work out."

A reassuring Gary Sweet is familiar with Tammy's dilemma. During filming of the last Police Rescue series, he was often separated from his wife, Jill. "It can be very tough but at times it's possible to work around the inconveniences," Gary says. "At one time I was nervous about working on a series, but now I can't think of doing anything else. This is the longest I've held on to a job since being in The Sullivans 10 years ago. I'm happy to persevere with Police Rescue. In a way I feel very responsible for the show, like the captain of a cricket team, and it's a responsibility that I'm enjoying."