Trivia

She attended Heidelberg University in Germany and the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, England.

She auditioned for the role of the new companion, Leela, in The Face of Evil: Part One (1977). The role went to Louise Jameson, but Salem was given a major guest role in the next story, The Robots of Death: Part One (1977). She later appeared in another of the series' most popular stories, Remembrance of the Daleks: Part One (1988), and was voted Best Supporting Actress of the year by readers of the Doctor Who (1963) Magazine.

She was born in India to a Jewish father and Sri Lankan mother.

She converted to Catholicism.

A move to Los Angeles in the 1990s, then Miami, led to a number of guest appearances in popular US drama series, such as ER and The West Wing, and a new career as a co-writer and producer of radio and theatre productions with her husband Michael O'Hagan.

She has also been seen in two adventures of Doctor Who: as Toos in The Robots of Death (1977)[5] and as Professor Rachel Jensen in Remembrance of the Daleks (1988),[6] a role she reprised for Big Finish Productions' officially licensed audio drama spin-off series Counter Measures.

In film, she played the role of Miss Moneypenny in the 'unofficial' 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again, starring Sean Connery.

Salem is known for her co-starring role in the early 1980s ITV children's fantasy series Into the Labyrinth as the evil witch Belor.

She can also be heard as the Queen in the English dub of "Hellsing Ultimate OVA IV" (2008).