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 be the next companion after Martha Jones (played by Freema Agyeman) on 14 August 2007. Astrid's surname, Peth, was confirmed in the Christmas edition of "Radio Times". Davies has stated that the character was always going to be a "one-off" even before Minogue was cast and that Astrid would demonstrate "a whole new take – again – on what a companion can be". The name Astrid Peth generated some speculation before the episode's broadcast over the findings that "Astrid" is an anagram of "TARDIS", and that "Peth" means "thing" in Welsh. However, the episode established no such connection. On "Doctor