Kylie, Doctor Who and a cup of tea

After the conclusion of the recent and wonderful third season of the new Doctor Who (see my NT Gateway blog postings on), we are all looking forward to this year's Christmas episode. The Christmas episode of Doctor Who, broadcast at about 7pm on Christmas day, is already establishing itself as something of an institution in the UK, and this year's has the added excitement of a guest starring role for Kylie Minogue. I've always been a bit of a Kylie fan, going right back to watching Neighbours in the late '80s. She's something of a megastar in the UK, so I was surprised recently to discover that she is almost unheard of in the US. While listening to a recent episode of Doctor Who Podshock, it became clear that the American participants in the podcast had no idea who she was and could not even pronounce her surname. I checked in with my girls, Emily and Lauren, who confirmed that none of their friends knew of Kylie.

The occasion for this post is a nice article in today's BBC Wales News:

Kylie is Pensioner's Cup of Tea

Kylie Minogue was mistaken for a real waitress in her role in Doctor Who when a pensioner asked her for a cup of tea.

While filming a one-off Christmas special outside a Swansea hotel, an elderly customer apparently thought the singer was a member of staff.

The 39-year-old star plays a waitress on the Titanic in the BBC Wales show.

An eye-witness said: "It was absolutely comical. Kylie is an international star but obviously this old dear didn't know who she was.

"She said to Kylie: 'Excuse me, love, is it too late for a cup of tea?' . . . .

Perhaps the pensioner was over from North America?

It's nice to think of this all happening in Swansea. We were there just a few weeks ago, in June. To think that we might have run into David Tennant and Kylie.