“Mamma Mia!” star Sara Poyzer was replaced by artificial intelligence in an upcoming BBC project.
Poyzer shared the news on X by showing a screenshot of an email that read: “Sorry for the delay – we have the approval from BBC to use the AI generated voice so we won’t need Sara anymore.”
“Sobering….,” Poyzer wrote.
The BBC is crafting a “highly sensitive documentary” and artificial intelligence was an option to recreate a dying person’s voice.
“We are making a highly sensitive documentary which features a contributor who is nearing the end of life and is now unable to speak,” the BBC said in a statement to Deadline.
“We have been working closely with their family to explore how we might best represent the contributor’s voice at the end of the film when words they have written are read out.”
“In these very particular circumstances and with the family’s wishes in mind we have agreed to use AI for a brief section to recreate a voice which can now no longer be heard,” the statement continued. “This will be clearly labeled within the film.”
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Poyzer is known for her roles on “EastEnders” and “Playing the Field” and in the films “My Last Five Girlfriends” and “The Knife That Killed Me.”
The actress noted the news was “grim” and “proper s–t” in posts shared to X.
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Others supported Poyzer, with “Game of Thrones” actor Miltos Yerolemou writing, “I think it’s time for British actors and creatives to draw a line in the sand. Like our American brothers and sisters it’s time to resist this.”
“Most of my income comes from voiceovers,” comedian Stevie Martin commented. “Without it I would have had to pick another career cos of money. This makes me want to explode.”
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“We were very disappointed to receive the production company’s response, particularly as it’s a BBC project,” Poyzer’s voiceover agency, Voice Squad, said in a statement to Deadline.
“The BBC have always stood for quality in their factual and drama broadcasting. As a voiceover agency we feel that AI is a danger to the whole industry — removing work from artists who have trained for three years at drama-school and spent many years honing their craft. Voice artists are particularly skilled actors who deserve not to have their work devalued.”
