Kylie appearance makes ‘best ever’ Dr Who episode
The Daily Telegraph, Australia : December 28, 2007
YOUNG fans of Kylie Minogue thought the pop princess had died, such was her dramatic one-off starring role on the hit series Dr Who. A record 12.2 million people in the UK tuned in to what is being hailed as the greatest Dr Who episode of all time, with the BBC prompted to already show a rerun.
But Australians may have to wait until 2009 to see it. The ABC is in negotiations to re-sign Dr Who but the program here is one series behind the UK.
The popularity of the episode, which eclipsed last year’s record, was being attributed to Minogue, who played French waitress Astrid Peth on the doomed Titanic voyage.
The real-life 39-year-old kissed the Time Lord, played by David Tennant, after saving his life during the 70-minute episode but then dramatically died in what has been the TV industry’s best-kept plot secret.
Many distraught younger fans of the singer thought she had actually been killed.
“No one expected to see Kylie die, so it was a bit of a shock all around,” a show insider said.
“Some younger viewers would need to have it explained to them that she is not really dead in real life but whether they could take that in amid all the drama is another matter.”
British newspapers and radio reported many fans were upset at seeing Minogue - who last year beat cancer in real life - killed off, with many describing how they were stunned and some young girls having to be convinced she was not really dead.
Many industry insiders are claiming Minogue will use the popular and powerful episode to relaunch her acting career.
Dr Who’s writer Russell Davies has already said Minogue revelled being back before the cameras when the episode was filmed last July.
“She missed acting and fancied the discipline,” he said. “She did this because I think that’s the way her thoughts are heading. You forget she was in Neighbours so she is used to knocking out an episode a day.”
Minogue is in Australia after hiring a private jet and heading home to Melbourne to spend Christmas with family.
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