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
The Two Ronnies 1987 Christmas Special (with whom he starred in "Porridge") in 1979 and Eric Morecambe in 1984 reportedly frightened him. The Two Ronnies 1987 Christmas Special The Two Ronnies 1987 Christmas Special was first broadcast on BBC1 on Christmas Day 1987 as part of the 12th series of the show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett, being also their last outing as Barker decided to retire from showbiz. Memorable sketches included "Pinocchio II: Killer Doll", a parody of the slasher films popular at the time. The musical guest was Elton John. At the time the special aired, no one except Corbett knew about Barker's