Voyage of the Damned (Doctor Who) Who" by the Australian singer and actress Kylie Minogue, who plays the waitress Astrid Peth. Executive producer and writer Russell T Davies described her casting as a "very exceptional case", having written the part of Astrid specifically for Minogue. On its original airdate, "Voyage of the Damned" was watched by 13.31 million viewers, the highest viewing figure for "Doctor Who" since the 1979 serial "City of Death" and still the highest viewership of any episode since the show's revival. It was the second most-watched programme of 2007, beaten only by the episode of "EastEnders" which aired immediately after it. Critical
Doctor Who (series 4) Astrid Peth, who died during the events of the episode. The companions in the regular series had all been in the lead companion role previously: the primary role of Donna Noble, who was introduced in "The Runaway Bride", was played by Catherine Tate for all thirteen episodes. Her return was announced by the BBC on 3 July 2007. Freema Agyeman, who portrayed the Doctor's companion Martha Jones in series three, returned for "The Sontaran Stratagem", "The Poison Sky", "The Doctor's Daughter", "The Stolen Earth" and "Journey's End". Billie Piper, who played Rose Tyler from the first episode of the new