Former Neighbours Cast and Crew Raise Concerns Over AI Recut Aimed at Phone Viewers

Former cast and crew of the Australian soap opera Neighbours have voiced unease about a plan to use artificial intelligence to re-edit old footage into short episodes designed for mobile phone viewing.

Fremantle, the producer of the series, has teamed up with US-based RoseBerry Media on the project. The companies say AI will "scan decades of episodes" to help create brief vertical videos. The first micro-drama will concentrate on footage of Margot Robbie, who played Donna Freedman from 2008 to 2011. The show aired its final episode last year.

Both companies argue the initiative will introduce the programme to new audiences. However, some actors and crew members say they have not agreed to have their images, voices or work reused in this way. Robbie has not commented publicly, and the BBC has asked her agency for a response.

In a joint statement, the companies said the technology would map character arcs, storylines and standout moments, helping editors quickly find the strongest material. A Fremantle spokesman said the episodes would use original, previously broadcast footage, dialogue and performances. He said the process "does not generate new scenes or performances, alter actors' faces or likenesses, or use synthetic voices", and that a human editor would review and approve every stage.

Matt Werkmeister, 34, who joined the show in 2005 aged 13 and played Zeke Kinski, is likely to appear in the episodes because he shared many scenes with Robbie's character. Now a Melbourne-based producer and director, he says nobody has contacted him. "If they're creating a new micro-drama out of something that already exists, I feel there needs to be consent for using our image and voice as well as the writers," he said. He added that streaming did not exist as a platform when he signed his contract two decades ago, so he is unsure of his rights.

Sam Clark, 39, who played Ringo Brown from 2006 to 2010, learned of the project when a friend sent him an article. Ringo later marries Robbie's character. Speaking from Los Angeles, where he works as a producer and voice actor, Clark said he did not object to the old work gaining a second life "as long as it's not being manipulated into new storylines". He said he is still trying to understand what his contract allows.

Sound recordist Bruce Findlay, 68, has worked in television for nearly five decades and was on the show from episode one. He compared using AI to build short episodes from old footage to "cutting up a Picasso and rebuilding it", and said the approach "belittles the process".

Guy Hameiri, head of RoseBerry Media, said this is the first time the company will use its in-house AI tool on Neighbours, which has more than 9,300 episodes, to produce "premium vertical television". He said the project will "reimagine" the material and give it "new audiences, new relevance and new value". Jens Richter, who leads Fremantle's commercial and international arm, called it "an exciting example of how technology and creative thinking can unlock new value" from the company's catalogue.

It is understood Fremantle is in talks with two unions and that residuals, the ongoing payments made to actors and writers when work is re-aired or syndicated, will be paid. This does not extend to crew. The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance confirmed the discussions. Its acting CEO, Adam Portelli, said workers "should be consulted before their likeness or expertise is used in a way they could never had envisioned when they signed contracts decades ago".