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
Nilus the Sandman: The Boy Who Dreamed Christmas locomotive. Peter then declares that "this really is a merry Christmas". "The Boy Who Dreamed Christmas" was released on VHS tape on August 15, 1992 in NTSC format, and on January 1, 2002 in PAL format. The special was released on DVD in late 2005 in Region 2 as a Daily Mail newspaper promo. "The Boy Who Dreamed Christmas" was followed by two more "Nilus the Sandman" television specials which also premiered on CTV: These specials were followed by a "Nilus the Sandman" TV series, which aired on The Family Channel from October 5, 1996 to November 23, 1998, with