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 to say yes to being beamed into millions of homes in the run-up to Christmas. She's got a duff album to sell. In truth, Kylie should be grateful to ["Doctor Who"]." David Belcher of "The Herald" wrote that Minogue looked too old to play a waitress. Sam Wollaston of "The Guardian" claimed Kylie's performance was "disappointing" and did not live up to those of Freema Agyeman or Billie Piper in "Doctor Who". Jim Shelley of "The Mirror" stated that Minogue did not "look vivacious enough to be worth all the fuss". Conversely, Paddy Shennan of the "Liverpool Echo" accused the