Royal Mail confirms AI voiceover used in Christmas advert after daughter recognizes late BBC narrator

AI companies behind the voiceover denied using a direct clone of Paul Vaughan's distinctive voice, but declined to comment when asked if its AI could have been trained on his work

Royal Mail has confirmed AI was used in the Christmas advert last year (Picture: Getty) Royal Mail has been forced to confirm its use of AI in last year’s Christmas advert after a woman recognised her late dad’s voice on TV. Lucy Wynne’s father, Paul Vaughan, had been a familiar voice on British telly, narrating Horizon, Radio 4’s Kaleidoscope, and more. His warm tone and BBC-style English accent is one that most Brits will have come across, with an ‘inflection in his voice that no one else has’. However, Lucy was shocked to hear her dad on a Royal Mail advert in November 2025 – 11 years after he had died. ‘Royal Mail, it’s so much more than just a card,’ the voice declared, with Lucy and her husband, Darren, agreeing the advert sounded suspiciously like Paul. The late voice actor had never worked with the postal service to her knowledge, leading her to believe somebody had ‘done something’. A woman recognised her father’s voice on the advert (Picture: Royal Mail) Paul Vaughan was a broadcaster and voice actor who died over a decade ago (Picture: Don Smith/Radio Times/Getty Images) Royal Mail has now confirmed that the cheery advert about posting heartfelt letters and human connectivity was narrated by an AI voice. A spokesperson told Metro: ‘The Christmas advertisement was produced for Royal Mail by external partners and featured real actors. As is increasingly common, the voiceover was AI-generated and we were advised that it was created using prompts and was not designed to replicate any specific individual.’ Deadline reported that the campaign was overseen by ad agency Darwin & the Machines, who worked with independent producer Untold Studios to film the real UK actors featured. However, the voiceover was subcontracted to AI company Fameplay, based in Czechia, which is backed by Czech Media Invest. That company is chaired by Daniel Křetínský, whose EP Group – a European conglomerate – also happens to own the Royal Mail. A source told Deadline that Fameplay’s Juraj Felix, who is close to Křetínský, had been ‘obsessed’ with the voiceover and was present during filming. ‘The production team told him that it was not a great idea to use AI in connection with such a venerable British brand,’ they said. Royal Mail was aware that AI was being used but insisted that it was ‘not designed to replicate any specific individual.’ Given Paul’s extensive work across radio, advertising, and audiobooks – including the Paddington books – his professional material is ripe for AI training. Fameplay’s AI is reportedly licensed from ElevenLabs, which Matthew McConaughey is an investor in and has a partnership with Michael Caine. The company declined to comment to Deadline on whether Paul’s material may have been used to train the generator, meaning prompts might result in his warm, authoritative voice being replicated. Royal Mail said AI is ‘increasingly common’ in adverts (Picture: Royal Mail) The 2025 advert featured real actors but not a real narrator (Picture: Royal Mail) They did, however, state that the Royal Mail narrator was not a direct clone of the late broadcaster. Royal Mail said to Metro that production partners had ‘carried out checks and advised that these did not identify any resemblance concerns’. But what about the concerns from Paul’s daughter, who firmly believed that it was her dad on the TV? ‘It’s outrageous,’ she said. ‘He could have died two weeks ago, for all they knew. He could have been in the care home for the past 10 years, slowly losing his capacity for speech, and then all of a sudden, he’s on the bloody telly. ‘They have not bothered to do their background searches to figure out who this voice is.’ She added that her dad would have hated the idea that a computer was taking jobs away from voice artists, urging companies to pay a real person for the work. Paul’s daughter Lucy Wynne called it ‘outrageous’ (Picture: CHRIS BARHAM/ Associated Newspapers) Lucy did complain to Royal Mail but reportedly has not yet received any form of apology, but the company stated: ‘We understand the concerns raised and have taken them seriously.’ Peter Caulfield, an actor who founded the Save Our Voices Now campaign, criticised Royal Mail’s decision to use AI. ‘Using AI in this way, whether inadvertently or not, without thorough checks, can result in a company stealing a voice from the grave and causing great upset to the family involved,’ he said. According to Deadline, ElevenLabs has now added Paul’s voice to their list of No Go Voices, which prohibits direct cloning on its platform in future. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source

EXCLUSIVE: Lucy Wynne can’t just watch TV. She’s usually scribbling, talking, or scrolling with half an eye on the big screen. On the day she heard her dead Dad’s voice reverberate around her living room, Wynne froze. It was November 2025, 11 years after her father had passed. She had been reminded of his anniversary […]