Fremantle’s AI-assisted Neighbours recut draws cast objections over consent

Fremantle says its AI-assisted Neighbours microdrama will preserve the actors’ original performances. But the project, which repackages Margot Robbie’s old storylines for phones, has drawn objections over consultation, consent and pay. Former cast member Matthew Werkmeister told Guardian Australia he learned about it only when the outlet approached him for comment.

Old performances, a new mobile series

Neighbours producer Fremantle is working with RoseBerry Media to turn existing episodes into a vertical series for RoseBerry’s Epis platform. The first installment centers on Donna Freedman, the character Robbie played from 2008 to 2011. Two of her storylines are being recut into about 150 minutes of micro-episodes.

The format is designed for phone viewing. Vertical serials usually divide a story into episodes around a minute long, although that is a description of the format, not a confirmed running time for each Neighbours episode. This adaptation draws from an archive spanning more than 9,300 episodes, broadcast between 1985 and 2025.

RoseBerry uses an AI-assisted production tool called RedSnapper. Fremantle says it helps analyze the archive, edit footage and reframe it vertically, with a human editor reviewing and approving every stage. The producer says the project uses only previously broadcast footage, dialogue and performances—not newly generated scenes, altered faces or synthetic voices.

The objection goes beyond synthetic acting

Werkmeister played Zeke Kinski from 2005 to 2011 and appeared alongside Robbie in a love-triangle storyline. His concern is not limited to whether a tool fabricates a performance. He told the Guardian he had not consented to his image being used through AI and on this platform.

He said he signed his original contracts at 13 and could not recall every provision. AI and vertical streaming were not considerations for him then, he said. He also rejected the argument that the format would bring the soap to younger audiences, calling the venture a “money grab for Fremantle”.

Converting existing work via AI without proper consultation or fair compensation sets a concerning precedent.

Matthew Werkmeister, speaking to Guardian Australia

Another Neighbours actor, Stefan Dennis, told the Herald Sun the project was “unbelievably invasive, morally and legally wrong”. He said he had involved his agent. Those are Dennis’s objections, not a legal finding about the adaptation. His agent declined further comment to Guardian Australia.

Payment follows existing agreements

Werkmeister said neither Fremantle nor RoseBerry had notified him about whether actors would receive residuals—payments for further use of their work. The Guardian reported that any residuals would be paid to writers and actors according to their existing series agreements, through the normal process. That is not a promise of a new compensation arrangement for the mobile adaptation.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, Australia’s largest actors’ union, confirmed it is helping Neighbours cast members and their representatives. It urged anyone involved in the show to contact the union so their work would not be exploited without their knowledge, consent or fair compensation.

The union also called on Australia’s prime minister and parliament to legislate for fair, direct compensation when creative workers’ work is exploited by AI. The Australian Writers’ Guild said it was in discussions with Fremantle and hoped to reach a fair resolution. RoseBerry backed Fremantle’s response and offered no further comment.