Astrid Peth "a full return to the limelight", Minogue's appearance was not universally praised. Gareth McLean, a TV writer for "The Guardian", described Minogue as "not that good...she's blank and insipid". McLean wrote: "There's no chemistry between Astrid and the Doctor, she delivers her lines with a real lack of conviction and thus we never really believe in Astrid as a character. Where Catherine Tate's Donna in last year's special was overbearing, Kylie Minogue's Astrid is hardly there at all. It does make you wonder why casting Kylie was regarded as a coup. She's a pop star – of course she's going
Astrid Peth 13.8 million watching at its peak, according to consolidated ratings, when it was first broadcast on Christmas Day on BBC One. The ratings success of "Voyage of the Damned" has been partially and fully attributed to Minogue's casting in the role of Astrid. Younger viewers who were fans of pop star Kylie were left distraught by Astrid's death and had to be convinced that Kylie was not dead in real life. Although reviewer Jane Simon would have liked to have seen more of the character and it has been asserted that her appearance in the episode has helped her make