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
Astrid (band) and began rehearsing in 1997. The group called themselves "Astrid" and quickly caught the attention of Belle & Sebastian who asked them to be their opening act, initially at a local gig and then on a small tour of the UK. Astrid signed up with Fantastic Plastic Records, under whose record label they released their first EP in 1998, "No Reason". The group then teamed with former Orange Juice singer, Edwyn Collins, who produced their second EP, "Hi-Fi Lo-Fi", which was also released in 1998. A single "It's True" was released the same year. Collins went to produce the group's