More than 80 British performers, including Bridgerton actor Nicola Coughlan, Paddington’s Hugh Bonneville and comedian Matt Lucas, signed an open letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham on August 28, urging his government to give every UK citizen statutory legal ownership of their own voice.
The letter backs a new campaign, Save Our Voices Now, co-founded by audiobook narrator Alice Sockett and performer Peter Caulfield. It asks Parliament to place voice ownership in the same legal category that already protects a person’s name and likeness — closing a gap that leaves voice actors, narrators and other performers with no clear statutory remedy when a deepfake clones their voice without consent.
“An existential threat”
Sockett, who helped organize the campaign, said voice cloning has become “an existential threat to our entire industry,” noting that with the right AI system a convincing clone can now be produced from as little as three seconds of audio. Caulfield said the government is “allowing AI companies to steal and profit from artists’ voices” by relying on a public consultation rather than legislation. Bonneville added that his voice is “unique,” calling it “part of my identity.”
The concern reflects how fast voice-cloning tools have moved from research demos to mainstream products: xAI added built-in voice cloning to its Grok Imagine video generator this year, and dubbing studios, audiobook publishers and marketers increasingly rely on synthetic voice technology without a clear UK consent framework.
What the campaign wants
The letter points to Denmark, which passed reforms this year giving individuals ownership over their face, body and voice, letting them demand removal of unauthorized AI-generated material and, in some cases, seek compensation. Save Our Voices Now wants comparable ethical and legal guardrails written into UK law rather than left to industry self-policing.
Where UK law stands
Britain currently has no statute specifically covering synthesized voices. An earlier petition on the government’s petitions website gathered more than 8,400 signatures but closed in June without reaching the 10,000-signature threshold needed for an official response. The new letter — signed by dozens of recognizable performers and delivered directly to the prime minister — is designed to force the issue back onto the political agenda, as AI regulation around generated likenesses tightens elsewhere in Europe.