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
Companion (Doctor Who) in the Series Four finale "The Stolen Earth" / "Journey's End" (2008), which features a record eight past, present and future companions: Donna is joined by a returning Rose, Martha, Jack, Sarah Jane, and Mickey, while past companion K9 and future companion Wilfred Mott make appearances. This tendency, plus the increase in "one-off" companions like Astrid Peth and Jackson Lake, has further obscured the matter of who is and is not a companion. The Doctor's companions have assumed a variety of roles—involuntary passengers, assistants (particularly Liz Shaw), friends, and fellow adventurers; and, of course, he regularly gains new companions and