Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen AI media incident
Families of late Doctor Who actors Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen condemn the unauthorized use of AI-generated likenesses in a fan-made video
- Reported date
- Nov 2, 2026
- Target
- Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen
The exact incident date was not established. This entry is dated by its source report.
The families of late Doctor Who icons Jon Pertwee and Elisabeth Sladen have publicly condemned the unauthorized use of the actors' likenesses in an AI-generated video. The incident sparked a debate regarding consent and the ethical implications of using synthetic media to depict deceased performers.
What happened
An AI-generated video featuring the likenesses of Jon Pertwee, who played the Third Doctor, and Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith, was published online without the consent of their families. Pertwee’s children, Dariel and Sean, described the recreation as invasive, disrespectful, and something their father would have strongly opposed. Similarly, Sladen’s daughter, Sadie Miller, criticized the production as abhorrent, noting that the video forced her mother to say and do things she never agreed to while alive.
Miller emphasized the distinction between human actors portraying fictional characters—a role she performs herself in audio dramas—and the non-consensual digital puppetry of a real person. Following public outcry and direct objections from Miller, the video producers reached out to the family. The original content was removed on October 12, and the producers subsequently replaced the AI-generated images of Sladen with a real actress. The incident highlights growing tensions between AI content creators and the estates of deceased public figures regarding the right to control one's digital image.