Janet Mahoney - now better known by her stage name of Janet Fielding - was born in Brisbane, Australia, in 1953. She gained A levels in Physics, Chemistry and Maths and joined Queensland University, where she first took up acting. After leaving university she worked with an English writer/director named Albert Hunt, who in 1977 brought her to England in one of his shows. Once in England she joined Ken Campbell at the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool and appeared in productions including "The Warp" and "The End is Nigh." Following this she won a small part in an episode of the 1980 "Hammer House of Horror" series. She was then cast as Tegan in Doctor Who. After leaving the series in 1984 she appeared in episodes of "Shelley" and "Minder" on TV and in productions of "The Collector" and the pantomime "Aladdin" in the theatre. In 1991 she gave up acting to work as an administrator in the pressure group Women in Film and Television, where she stayed for three-and-a-half years. She then became a director of Marina Martin Associates, an actors' agency, representing amongst others the eighth Doctor, Paul McGann.
