Astrid Peth Who Confidential", Minogue describes Astrid as a "dreamer" and that meeting with the Doctor rekindles Astrid's desire to explore. Later in his book "A Writer's Tale" Davies discussed with co-author Benjamin Cook how he had originally named the character "Peth" in a treatment but it bugged him, he later renamed her to "Astrid" giving the reason that it "...sounds more spacey, more like a futuristing Doctor's companion". Despite Davies stating that the companion in "Voyage of the Damned" was "always going to [be] a one-off...little knowing that it would be Kylie Minogue", he has since stated that he would cast
Astrid (band) and began rehearsing in 1997. The group called themselves "Astrid" and quickly caught the attention of Belle & Sebastian who asked them to be their opening act, initially at a local gig and then on a small tour of the UK. Astrid signed up with Fantastic Plastic Records, under whose record label they released their first EP in 1998, "No Reason". The group then teamed with former Orange Juice singer, Edwyn Collins, who produced their second EP, "Hi-Fi Lo-Fi", which was also released in 1998. A single "It's True" was released the same year. Collins went to produce the group's