Sara Poyzer, an actress who starred in the stage production of Mamma Mia! for over 10 years, will be replaced by AI in an upcoming production for the BBC. “Sobering…” said the star in response to a crass email from producers posted in a tweet Tuesday.
“Sorry for the delay,” said a producer via email. “We have had the approval from BBC to use the AI-generated voice so we won’t need Sara anymore.”
The BBC sent a statement sent to Gizmodo noting “important context” for this use of AI. The company is making a “highly sensitive documentary” featuring a contributor nearing the end of their life who is now unable to speak.
“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,” said a BBC spokesperson in a statement. “This will be clearly labelled within the film.”
This is not the first time AI has been used to recreate the voice of someone who can no longer contribute. The Beatles used AI to recreate the late John Lennon’s voice to perform one final song with Paul McCartney.
Poyzer played Donna, the same role Meryl Streep plays in the movie version of Mamma Mia!, performing on stages around the world for the last decade. She’s one of the more prominent actors to be replaced by AI. Poyzer was met with frustration and sympathy from the rest of the acting world in replies on X and Instagram. However, Poyzer’s tweet did

Courtney Milan writes books about carriages, corsets, and smartwatches. Her books have received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. She is a New York Times and a USA Today Bestseller.
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Before she started writing romance, Courtney got a graduate degree in theoretical physical chemistry from UC Berkeley. After that, just to shake things up, she went to law school at the University of Michigan and graduated summa cum laude. Then she did a handful of clerkships. She was a law professor for a while. She now writes full-time.
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